Implement
Private Institutions: Enter Purchasing Commitments
- Private Institution
- Self-Operated
Values-Based Purchasing When a Formal Solicitation is Required
As mentioned, the three types of purchasing agreements are easiest to establish when using informal procurement methods. However, formal solicitations may be necessary in some instances, such as for private institutions receiving government funding for their food procurement, or when internal policies or industry standards require formal solicitations.
When a private institution issues a formal solicitation—be it a small purchase solicitation, request for proposals, or invitation for bids—narrowly tailoring the solicitation and including values-based language helps ensure the contract goes to a values-based vendor.
Formal solicitations work best for single purchase orders and standing purchase orders. The added formalities required in competitive bidding can make it more difficult to build the collaborative relationships needed for forward purchasing commitments. However, with clear specifications and strong communication, it is possible to build strong purchasing relationships, even when formal procurement processes are required.
Solicitations should be concise and clear. Long, repetitive, or confusing solicitations can drive away potential bidders. [19] Clear specifications communicate an institution’s values and expectations, laying an important foundation for strong partnerships.
After awarding a contract, maintaining regular, open communication with the vendor is vital. This ensures that needs are met and positions vendors to secure similar contracts in the future.
The model recommendations and language below provide ways to narrow solicitations and tailor specifications to increase the likelihood of getting responsive bids from values-based vendors.
Model Recommendations: Formal Solicitations
This Toolkit does not include a full solicitation template, but instead highlights several ways to tailor solicitations to further your institution’s values-based procurement goals. Note that the model language for solicitations can be incorporated into an RFP, an invitation for bids, or a small purchase solicitation. For RFPs, the institution will need to include clear evaluation criteria and detail how the contract will be awarded. [20] The example specifications below can also be modified to be evaluation criteria in an RFP.[21]
A solicitation for values-based vendors should include the following directives:
- Signal Institutional Commitment to Values-Based Procurement
- State Values-Based Specifications
- Solicit Information About Vendor’s Capacity to Deliver to an Institutional Market
The following recommendations focus on each of these directives and provide model language and alternatives for incorporating values-based procurement into a solicitation.
Signal Institutional Commitment to Values-Based Procurement
This is the place in the solicitation where the institution can introduce its commitment to values-based procurement. A program description sets forth the institution’s history and procurement needs. This description can also be used to inform potential vendors about the institution’s values-based food procurement goals and the steps taken to implement them, such as staff training or infrastructure upgrades.
How an institution chooses to describe itself and its food operations sends an important signal to potential vendors about what it prioritizes and how values-based procurement is a critical part of its operations.
Model Recommendation
[Institution] is committed to values-based purchasing. Through its food purchasing, [Institution] seeks to align public dollars with core values, including [insert values/goals].
Examples of values/goals include but are not limited to:
- Community/public health
- Equity
- Local economy investment
- Resilience
- Sustainability
- Fair labor/valued workforce
- Health and nutrition
Alternative: Other Ways to Signal Values-Based Procurement Commitment
Instead of highlighting the institution’s commitment to values-based procurement in the solicitation program description, the institution may wish to communicate that commitment in other ways. Regardless of the method used, institutions must make their values-based procurement commitments clear to potential bidders to secure quality bids from vendors.
As an alternative to the model recommendation, institutions may consider including:
- references to relevant laws, policies, or positions related to its food purchasing;
- a statement of values;
- a history of the institution’s food purchasing program and commitments; or
- a statement of goals and objectives for values-based procurement.
These alternatives will best serve institutions with:
- specific goals or institutional mandates related to values-based procurement; or
- a long-running commitment to values-based procurement—either across the institution or within particular departments.
To use these alternatives effectively, it is important to understand what is feasible and sensible for the institution. If the institution is new to values-based purchasing or setting specific purchasing goals, it should start with the model recommendation and then evaluate alternatives as the institution’s values-based purchasing program grows.
Options for Signaling Commitment to Values-Based Procurement:
- [Institution] is committed to values-based procurement and has been since [year values-based procurement was first adopted]. Since then, it has:
- Purchased [X percent; X pounds] of product from vendors engaging in [particular values-based behavior].
- Spent [X amount of money] purchasing from vendors engaging in [particular values-based behavior].
- [List accomplishments for each relevant values-based behavior]
- [Institution] is committed to procurement in accordance with [insert federal/state/ local laws, policies, or positions related to values-based procurement].
Examples of laws, policies, or positions include:
- Local preference
- Farm to School programs
- Health & Nutrition Plan;
- Sustainability Plan;
- Climate Action Plan;
- [Institution] is a member of [insert values-based purchasing coalition, group, or pledge], which [insert goals]. [Institution] seeks to further these goals in its food procurement.
State Values-Based Product Specifications
The solicitation should clearly describe the exact products the private institution intends to purchase and any product or vendor specifications. By tailoring the product specifications, an institution can clearly communicate to potential bidders that it intends to purchase only certain types of products. This section of the solicitation will also include any vendor eligibility requirements, such as liability insurance and food safety assurances. The product specifications should detail relevant information regarding quantity, quality, and delivery requirements to ensure the product delivered is usable by the institution.
An institution can also include values-based specifications, based on the institution’s food purchasing guidelines, which can limit prospective bidders to only vendors willing and able to further the institution’s purchasing goals. These specifications can cover various topics, so the institution should focus on the ones that are most relevant to its specific values.
When drafting product specifications, the private institution should be careful to include enough requirements to ensure the institution’s needs and goals are met, but avoid making them unnecessarily stringent, which could exclude otherwise qualified values-based vendors. For example, certain certifications can indicate a vendor’s efforts toward a specific value, but certifications can be costly and time-consuming to obtain, so some vendors that might qualify for the certification do not have the certificate simply because the process is too burdensome.[22]
Model Recommendation
The [Institution] seeks [insert product or product type sought] that meets the following specifications:
- [Insert values-based specifications]
- [Insert values-based specifications]
- [Insert relevant product quantity, quality, and/or delivery requirements] (Model language for these requirements falls outside the scope of this Toolkit)
| Options for Values-Based Specifications:* | |
| Specifications related to local economic investment:
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| Specifications related to supplier size and farming practices:
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| Specifications related to values-based certifications:
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| Specifications related to data tracking and reporting:
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| Specifications related to educational activities and community involvement
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Alternative: Make Specifications Preferential
Instead of making certain specifications mandatory requirements, an institution may want to make them preferential, incorporate a combination of mandatory and preferential specifications, or require that certain specifications be met only some of the time. The specifications in the model recommendation can easily be modified to indicate preferences instead of imposing mandatory requirements.
Options for Making Specifications Preferential:
[Institution] prefers [product] that meets the following specifications:
- [Insert preferential specifications].
- Example: [Institution] prefers food to be locally grown.
Solicit Information About Vendor’s Capacity to Deliver to an Institutional Market
The solicitation should also solicit relevant information to ensure that a vendor is equipped to fulfill the institution’s needs. Specifically, anv institution may want to inquire about the vendor’s experience selling to institutional markets.
Model Recommendation
Institutions should consider including the following questions:
- Has the vendor sold its product to other institutions directly or through a distributor or aggregator?
- Has the vendor worked with other institutions implementing values-based procurement or similar purchasing goals?
- Does the vendor have access to necessary space and equipment to store, pack, and ship product to the institution?
Footnotes
[19] Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, Food Procurement in the District of Columbia: A Weak Link in the Value Chain, George Washington University at 23 (2025),https://redstone.publichealth.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5276/files/2025-02/Values-Based%20Procurement%20Report-Jan%202025.pdf.
[20] Note that evaluation criteria are what is used by institutions to evaluate bids, while solicitation specifications and technical requirements are used to determine whether a potential bidder is responsive and responsible. If a bidder fails to meet an evaluation criterion, it will receive a lower score; however, if a bidder fails to meet a specification or technical requirement, the bidder is not responsive and responsible and cannot be awarded the contract. See Christina Conell, Maggie Gosselin & Deborah Kane, Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture at 53 (2022), https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/June22F2SProcurementGuide508.pdf.
[21] The model recommendations below are very similar to this Toolkit’s recommendations in Implement: Private Institutions: Draft Requests for Proposals for Food Service Management Companies. However, these recommendations are specific to contracting directly with values-based vendors, not management companies.
[22] See The Common Market, Advancing School Food Procurement: Driving Values-Based Purchases through Competitive Solicitations at 70 (2022), https://storage.googleapis.com/lunchbox-prod-v1/downloads/Advancing-School-Food-Procurement-Driving-Values-Based-Purchasing-through-Competitive-Solicitations.pdf.