In 2011 the Los Angeles Food Policy Council convened the “Build a Market for Good Food” Working Group comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders interested in food services and procurement. The Working Group’s efforts and work culminated in the development and creation of the Good Food Purchasing Policy. The LA Food Policy Council achieved its first GFPP success in 2012 when the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) adopted the policy. In August 2016, the Council invited various stakeholders to meet and reconvene what is now called the Good Food Purchasing Policy Working Group.

Active city departments that participate in the Good Food Purchasing Program are Aging, Recreation and Parks, Water and Power, and Los Angeles World Airports. Each department is in a different stage of implementation and the Council is working with each to support their various efforts.

LAUSD has also been successful in shifting its food procurement to support healthy, sustainable, local, humane, and fair food. The policy has allowed LAUSD to purchase more food from local small and mid-sized farmers, with 50 to 72% of its produce sourced from within 200 miles of the district. Gold Star Foods, one of LAUSD’s main vendors, has made significant operational changes to meet Program standards. It has changed its bread recipe and now sources its wheat flour from California farms. Its drivers also joined the Teamsters Local 63 union in the summer of 2015.

Lead Organization:

• Los Angeles Food Policy Council

Local Coalition:

• Coosemans LA Shipping
• Food Chain Workers Alliance
• LA County Department of Public Health
• Teamsters Joint Local 42
• UFCW Local 770
• Unite Here Local 11
• Urban and Environmental Policy Institute