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Feeding the Nation’s Children: Challenges and Opportunities Related to School Food Procurement Regulations

In collaboration with the Urban School Food Alliance, the Government Performance Lab (GPL) at the Harvard Kennedy School sought to map the current state of school food procurement rules and regulations at both the federal and state level. The GPL aimed to assess the overall impact of these regulations on (1) School Food Authorities (SFAs), especially as they navigate complex layers of regulations and (2) vendors, including producers, distributors, and processors, who may face barriers in participating in procurements.

The GPL’s research focused on a scan of state websites from a sample of 21 randomly chosen states across each of the seven USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) regions. Because state websites are likely a core source of information for SFAs, the GPL’s research approach is representative of what SFAs, or other practitioners, might find when aiming to understand regulations.

Report prepared for the Urban School Food Alliance
February 2025

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