Implement

Private Institutions: Enter Purchasing Commitments

After determining who will manage food operations and defining vendor eligibility requirements, the next step is to establish purchasing agreements with vendors. Purchasing commitments, when formed strategically, can drastically increase an institution's values-based purchasing.
  • Private Institution
  • Self-Operated
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Buying Directly from Values-Based Vendors

An institution can also buy food directly from a values-based vendor. In contrast to buying from a traditional, broadline distributor, buying directly from a values-based vendor usually involves smaller-scale purchases. These purchases may occur when the institution has a specific need that its distributor cannot meet, or the institution identifies a values-based vendor that aligns with its values and wants to start a purchasing relationship with them. This section of the Toolkit provides guidance and templates for direct purchasing from values-based vendors. 

There are three main ways that institutions purchase from values-based vendors:

  1. Single purchase orders
  2. Standing purchase orders
  3. Forward purchasing commitments

Building strong, open relationships with vendors is key to making single orders, standing orders, and forward purchasing commitments successful. These approaches work well for private institutions, which are generally not legally required to use formal solicitations. Of course, there are still instances where private institutions may want to issue a formal solicitation to find a vendor, and existing contract terms or internal procurement policies may require formal solicitations. When formal solicitations are used, they can still support these purchasing agreements. Accordingly, this page also includes model language and recommendations for issuing formal solicitations for values-based products.