Picture Credit: Lena Brook (Fullwell)

In mid-October, several members from the CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program (F2S) Evaluation Team attended the 2025 Power of Procurement summit in Chicago, IL. The gathering brought together approximately 250 attendees representing local and state governments, community advocates, researchers, and funders, all working to transform food systems through values-based institutional procurement.

The summit took place on the heels of the release of the 2025 CA F2S Grant Program Evaluation Progress Report and Policy Recommendations. The summit reinforced many themes that emerged from the evaluation work and highlighted promising approaches from across the country and around the world.

F2S Evaluation Team members: Debbie Friedman (Food Insight Group), H Nieto-Friego (SupplyChange) and Neha Sanghera (Berkeley Food Institute)

Institutional food procurement represents enormous purchasing power and a critical opportunity to reshape food systems. Schools, hospitals, and other public institutions collectively spend billions of dollars on food each year. Historically, farmers of color and small and midsize farmers have been systematically excluded from these markets. California’s F2S Grant Program aims to transform school food supply chains, educate a new generation of eaters, support climate smart and organic producers, and create stable markets for local farmers and ranchers. These changes are intended to improve child health and well-being, increase climate resilience, and expand opportunities for underserved farmers. By being intentional about purchasing foods from these producers, institutions can make powerful investments in their communities and regional food systems. It’s fundamentally about using public dollars for public good.

Learning from Global Models

Summit participants looked to international models for inspiration. One of the most compelling presentations showcased Brazil’s National School Feeding Program (PNAE). All Brazilian public schools provide universal free meals, with most schools equipped with kitchens for on-site food preparation. Public schools must follow national nutrition guidelines that limit ultra-processed foods to just 10%, and remarkably, 30% of all food purchasing must come from local sources. This local purchasing goal will increase to 40% next year.

The commitment to nutrition and local sourcing resonates with CA’s F2S program goals. The evaluation findings show that in 2024, 100% of the program’s Food Producer grant funding went to prioritized producers, including veteran and socially disadvantaged food producers and limited-resource farm households. This far exceeded the initial target set of 40%.

Building Networks for Success

A consistent theme throughout the summit was that scalability and sustainability depend on robust networks of support. Effective good food purchasing initiatives require champions both inside and outside government, from policymakers and procurement officials to food hubs, community organizations, and advocates. In California, CDFA’s investment in staffing regional leads has been essential for reaching priority producers, encouraging their participation in the program, and providing crucial technical assistance. This collaborative approach mirrors what has been observed in the state’s most successful Farm to School grant projects, where partner organizations play vital roles in connecting producers with schools and addressing supply chain challenges.

As California continues to invest in and expand farm to school programming, the lessons from the 2025 Power of Procurement summit underscore that transforming institutional food procurement requires sustained commitment, cross-sector collaboration, and a shared vision for using public resources to create healthier, sustainable, and more equitable food systems.