Exploring Regional Produce Procurement 

in Detroit Public Schools

Amy Rosenthal, School Food FOCUS

JoAnne Berkenkamp, Tomorrow’s Table
Cover page photo credits:

Photos 1 and 2: School Food FOCUS

Photo 3: Erin McKee VanSlooten, IATP
Exploring Regional Produce Procurement 

in Detroit Public Schools

Amy Rosenthal, School Food FOCUS 

JoAnne Berkenkamp, Tomorrow’s Table

School Food FOCUS and Public Health Solutions 

United States Department of Agriculture 

Agricultural Marketing Service Cooperative Agreement No. 12-25-A-6731

Final Report

Cooperator staff member completing this report: Amy Rosenthal 

Date of submission: March 3, 2015

Special thanks to: 

Betti Wiggins, Executive Director, Detroit Public Schools Office of Food Services

Kevin Frank, District Chef, Detroit Public Schools Office of Food Services

Christine Quane, Wholesale Market Manager, Eastern Market Corporation

Representatives at several businesses and nonprofits throughout Michigan who contributed their expertise to 

this report
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March 2016

Note: To maintain confidentiality, the real names of DPS suppliers are not used in this report. Italicized 

company names are aliases.
1

Executive Summary

In September 2013, School Food FOCUS (FOCUS) 

partnered with the USDA Agricultural Marketing 

Service on a cooperative agreement to enhance 

the regional produce procurement capacity of Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The goals of the project were to create benefits to producers through 

new market opportunities and to schoolchildren 

through increased access to healthy fresh foods.

To achieve these goals, FOCUS was charged with 

both researching current DPS channels for regional produce and identifying ways to enhance the 

district’s capacity to procure fruits and vegetables 

regionally. FOCUS worked closely with DPS as well 

as Detroit Eastern Market (DEM) and DPS produce 

suppliers during 2014. DPS, FOCUS, and DEM 

decided to target winter squash for increased 

regional procurement in fall of 2014. FOCUS also 

researched and documented a supply chain bringing Michigan-grown blueberries into DPS as an 

example of a mutually beneficial farmer-district 

relationship.

DPS currently spends 10 percent of its produce 

dollars on products grown in Michigan. This is 

well above the 2 percent average across the districts in the Upper Midwest for which FOCUS 

collects data on regional spending and evidence 

of the district’s commitment to sourcing locally. 

As with these other large districts in the region, 

the current context of the food system can make 

it challenging for DPS to access regional products 

in an efficient way.1 DPS relies on a broadline 

distributor which sources products from a range 

of manufacturers, processors, and other distributors. Given the multiple businesses through which 

1 FOCUS considers districts of 40,000 students enrolled to be “large” districts.

foods change hands, Michigan farmers are often 

unaware when their product is sold into DPS, and 

DPS itself has limited knowledge about the geographic origins of the produce. Lack of knowledge 

about produce origins, either retroactively or in 

advance of purchase, makes it difficult for the 

district to track and prioritize purchasing regionally. Other issues found to hamper regional procurement capacity include logistical complexities, 

produce availability, and institutional barriers to 

change within supply chain firms.

Addressing these potential constraints requires 

commitment by the district, its partners, and 

its suppliers. Moving to new practices that may 

involve more work without an obvious payoff can 

be a hard sell for businesses or school districts for 

whom the bottom line is always a consideration. 

Where DPS has seen success, it is a direct result of 

its commitment to regional purchasing and other 

salient factors: selecting the right products, finding alignment between supply chain partners, and 

clear communication and a collaborative approach 

among those involved.

DPS’ capacity for regional procurement could 

be further expanded in several ways, including 

support for improving kitchen facilities, regional 

infrastructure to increase produce supply year 

round, and better communication between districts and with growers about opportunities to 

sell to schools and how to make them work. The 

successes and obstacles at DPS provide lessons for 

other collaborations, which, though complex, offer 

potential benefits for all involved.
2
3

Contents

Executive Summary.................................................. 1

Introduction.................................................. 5

Produce Pathways.................................................. 7

Nationally and Internationally Sourced Winter Squash.................................................. 8

Regionally Sourced Winter Squash.................................................. 9

Regionally Sourced Blueberries.................................................. 10

Challenges of Selling Regionally Grown Produce to School Districts.................................................. 12

Logistics.................................................. 12

Meeting Product Specifications.................................................. 12

Advance Commitments.................................................. 13

Limited Growing Season.................................................. 13

Institutional Barriers to Change.................................................. 13

Making Regional Produce Procurement Work in a Large District.................................................. 14

Product Selection.................................................. 14

Finding Alignment.................................................. 14

Communication and Collaboration.................................................. 15

Looking Forward.................................................. 17

Appendixes.................................................. 18

Appendix A: Detroit Public Schools Purchasing Data.................................................. 19

Appendix B: Pros and Cons of Potential Target Products.................................................. 20

Appendix C: Supply Chain Mapping.................................................. 26
4
5

Introduction

In September 2013, School Food FOCUS (FOCUS) 

partnered with the USDA Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) on a cooperative agreement to 

enhance the regional produce procurement capacity of Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The goals 

of the project were to create benefits to producers 

through new market opportunities and to schoolchildren through increased access to healthy fresh 

foods.

There are approximately 52,400 students enrolled 

in DPS, and while 84 percent qualify for free or 

reduced-price lunch, all students eat for free via 

the Community Eligibility Program.2 The district spends about $23 million per year on food, 

with about $650,000 spent on regional produce 

in school year (SY) 2013-14. (See Appendix A: 

Detroit Public Schools Purchasing Data for more 

details.) Given the sizable and diverse agricultural 

production in Michigan, there seem to be opportunities for DPS to expand its regional produce 

purchasing and support Michigan agriculture 

while putting fresh, healthful foods on the plates 

of students who need it.

Activities

As designed, the activities of the project were to:

● outline the channels by which DPS procures 

regional produce, using mapping and supply 

chain visualization as a tool to better understand DPS produce–supply chains;

● determine the amount of regional produce 

procured by the district in SY 2012-13 and 

SY 2013-14;

2 The Community Eligibility Program allows schools in 

low-income areas to offer free meals to all students without 

collecting individual applications verifying eligibility.

● identify new potential suppliers of regional 

produce and establish or strengthen the 

necessary aggregation, processing, and distribution links to move this regional produce 

into Detroit schools; and

● investigate methods by which product 

information is transmitted through produce 

supply chains and identify opportunities 

to improve DPS’ capability to report on the 

type and volume of its regional purchasing.

FOCUS worked closely on this project with DPS as 

well as Detroit Eastern Market (DEM), the city’s 

long-running, nonprofit produce terminal and a 

DPS community partner. Significant input also 

came from current DPS produce suppliers.

FOCUS began the project with meetings in Detroit 

with DPS staff and the district’s three key produce 

distributors, including its broadline distributor, 

herein referred to as Broadline Foods.

3

 These conversations, supplemented by procurement data 

provided by the district, provided a picture of the 

district’s regional produce procurement methods 

for SY 2012-13.

Through these conversations and subsequent 

discussions, DPS, FOCUS, and DEM decided to 

target winter squash for regional procurement, 

due to its wide availability in Michigan. We also 

explored beets as an initial possibility. DPS had 

previous experience with winter squash and knew 

it was acceptable to students. Beets offered the 

opportunity to try a new product on the menu. 

(See Appendix B: Pros and Cons of Potential Target 

Products for the full list of products considered.)

3 To maintain confidentiality, we have not used the real 

names of DPS’ suppliers in this report. All italicized firm 

names are aliases.
6

DPS has purchased blueberries from a third-generation female farmer in southwestern Michigan 

for several years. FOCUS also researched and 

documented this supply chain as an example 

of a well-functioning, mutually beneficial district-farmer relationship.

Over the course of several months, FOCUS staff 

and a research consultant conducted phone interviews and site visits with various entities in 

the DPS produce supply chain, including produce 

distributors and processors, DPS’ broadline distributor, squash growers, and Detroit Eastern 

Market. FOCUS staff and the mapping consultant 

also interviewed participants in the supply chain 

that provide regional blueberries to DPS. These 

interviews form the basis of Section II: Produce

Pathways, including the supply chain diagrams 

and maps provided in Appendix C.

4

4 Over the course of the project, it became clear that 

beets would be difficult for DPS to integrate into the 

menu, so project partners decided to focus solely on 

winter squash. As such, beets are not represented in 

Section II.

Concurrently, Detroit Eastern Market introduced 

FOCUS staff to a Detroit-based, nonprofit food 

rescue organization which is currently expanding 

into food processing through a social enterprise 

venture and is interested in processing produce 

for DPS. FOCUS facilitated conversations with relevant players to encourage formation of a supply 

chain for winter squash and/or beets from regional farmers through the nonprofit’s new processing arm, herein referred to as Social Venture

Processors (SVP), to DPS. While DPS did not end 

up procuring produce processed by Social Venture

Processors in fall 2014, SVP is now approved as 

a vendor to DPS’ broadline distributor, a critical 

step in positioning Social Venture Processors as a 

potential vendor to DPS. Knowledge gained in the 

process of building this supply chain and in the 

conversations with a range of players in the Michigan food system is detailed in Sections III and IV.
7

Produce Pathways

DPS Procurement Context

DPS has significant purchasing power when it 

comes to produce—spending $6.4 million on 

fruits and vegetables in SY 2013-14. Most of this 

is purchased through its broadline distributor, 

Broadline Foods, with whom DPS has a multi-year 

contract in place and through which it purchases the vast majority of its food. DPS spent $5.7 

million on produce from Broadline Foods in SY 

2013-14, of which 4.8 percent ($273,445) was 

regionally grown. DPS also purchases produce via 

two other distributors through the USDA Fresh 

Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) and the U.S. 

Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh program. In 

SY 2013-14, DPS spent 9.2 percent ($593,855) 

on produce through the DoD Fresh program, 64 

percent ($380,067) of which was produce grown 

in Michigan. Data on spending via the FFVP was 

not available for SY 2013-14 due to a change in 

the produce distributor’s tracking system. This 

program represents only a small percentage of 

DPS spending ($104,913, or 2 percent of all produce spending, in SY 2012-13), but some of it is 

regional produce. As a result, the percentage that 

DPS spends on regional produce is slightly higher 

than the 10.1 percent attributable to Broadline 

Foods and the DoD Fresh program. This figure 

may also slightly underreport regional purchasing 

due to the difficulty maintaining product identity 

across the supply chain and reporting accurately 

on produce origins, as discussed below.

DPS Produce Supply Chains

Below, we outline several supply chains for the 

products that this investigation focused on, some 

of which are currently in use by DPS, while others 

are potential options for the future:

1. Nationally and internationally sourced winter squash

2. Regionally sourced winter squash

• Pre-cut by conventional fresh cut 

processor

• Pre-cut by alternative fresh cut 

processor

3. Regionally sourced blueberries

DPS has procured fresh, regional winter squash 

every fall since SY 2011-12, serving it as part of 

its Harvest of the Month program (generally once 

or twice per school year). DPS also began procuring frozen, regional blueberries the same year, 

which it serves once a week through the first half 

of the school year. Because DPS kitchens do not 

have preparation facilities equipped to wash and 

chop fruits and vegetables, all produce must be 

purchased in the form in which it will be served 

or cooked. For example, whole blueberries can 

be used, but squash must be pre-cut. (Based on 

previous experience, the chef prefers diced and 

Table 1: Detroit Public Schools Produce Purchases, SY 2013-14

Procurement Method Total 

Spending

Regional 

Spending % Regional

Broadline Foods $5,744,400 $273,445 4.8%

Department of Defense Fresh $593,855 $380,067 64.0%

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program $104,913* Not available

Total produce purchases $6,443,168 $653,512 10.1%

* Data based on SY 2012-13 purchasing
8

peeled chunks of winter squash.) The produce 

must also be packed in containers and sizes that 

can be stored and handled in each school’s kitchen. For winter squash, this meant a preference for 

a 30-pound case containing six 5-pound bags.

Nationally and Internationally

Sourced Winter Squash

The blue arrows in Figure 1 represent the supply 

chain that would likely bring non- regional winter 

squash into DPS. Broadline Foods procures cut 

squash from Fresh Cut Veggies, a Michigan-based 

grower, processor, and distributor of value-added produce. When winter squash is not available 

in Michigan, Fresh Cut Veggies procures whole 

squash via another Michigan-based, small produce 

distributor, Produce Solutions (PS).

PS sources winter squash nationally and internationally, depending on the time of year. It has its 

own logistics company, which enables it to pick 

up product from the packers’ locations in major 

growing regions and ship it across the country. 

Starting in late October, PS purchases Mexican-grown squash that is shipped from Nogales, 

AZ, where it has a shipping facility. Mexican production tapers off in the spring, and the supply 

shifts to Florida. After that, it shifts to Georgia and 

then North Carolina. PS purchases from Michigan 

suppliers beginning in August before starting the 

cycle again.

Product shipped from Mexico typically spends up 

to 4 days in transit before reaching the Produce 

Solutions distribution facility in Michigan. Representatives at Produce Solutions noted that the 

price for local product before the cost of shipping 

Figure 1: DPS Winter Squash Supply Chains

Sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Census TIGER, U.S. Census NAICS, FOCUS interviews
9

is typically similar to the Free On Board (FOB) cost 

of non-local product and remains steady at around 

$11-14 per case no matter where the source. This 

indicates a potential price advantage for regional 

produce, as the processing for both regional and 

non-regional is done in the same location.

Once it has procured the whole squash from PS, 

Fresh Cut Veggies transports it to its own facility to 

wash, cut, and package the product. From there, 

the squash is sold to Broadline Foods, which transports it to its distribution center for repacking and 

transport to each DPS drop-off point.

Regionally Sourced Winter Squash

Pre-cut by conventional fresh cut processor

In fall 2013, DPS purchased Michigan-grown acorn 

squash via the supply chain outlined in green in 

Figure 1. Fresh Cut Veggies obtained winter squash 

from three farms in western Michigan that season. 

Fresh Cut Veggies washes, cuts, and packages the 

regional squash in Grand Rapids before Broadline 

Foods picks it up for distribution to DPS.

Pre-cut by alternative fresh cut processor

FOCUS and its partners have worked to catalyze 

the potential supply chain shown in red in Figure 

1. This chain represents a new opportunity for 

DPS to source regionally grown hard squash, and 

potentially other produce, while collaborating 

with an innovative social enterprise that has not 

yet sold into the K-12 marketplace. This supply 

chain would connect growers who sell at Eastern 

Market in Detroit to DPS via Social Venture Processors (SVP) and Broadline Foods. SVP would peel 

and cut Michigan-grown winter squash (and potentially other root vegetables, such as parsnips) 

to sell to Broadline Foods for ultimate sale to DPS.

SVP is a for-profit subsidiary of a well-established 

food rescue organization that has developed 

facilities to cut, cook, freeze, and store a range of 

foods. SVP recently expanded its business model 

to make its facilities available to a variety of food 

entrepreneurs and operate as a co-packer and 

processor, filling a need for processors willing to 

work with smaller institutions and enterprises. All 

SVP profits support its parent organization’s operations and mission. SVP is eager to work with DPS, 

seeing alignment in their goals, and has stated its 

willingness to negotiate its pricing in the interest 

of selling to DPS.

SVP is prepared to source from regional growers that typically sell at Detroit Eastern Market 

(DEM). (It already works with some of these farms 

for other clients.) Farms that sell at DEM are typically from multi-generation family farms, most 

of whom use conventional agricultural practices. 

Some are as large as 1,200 acres, although smaller farms of 50–100 acres are also active vendors 

at DEM. A subset of these growers are Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)-certified. Ideally, as it 

develops its business model, SVP could become 

a reliable source for institutions such as DPS and 

even distributors like Broadline Foods to procure 

processed produce sourced from small to medium-sized regional farmers.

In order to supply DPS, Social Venture Processors

had to become an approved vendor with Broadline 

Foods. After meeting with Broadline Foods staff in 

spring 2014, SVP completed the required paperwork. Broadline Foods approved SVP as a vendor 

in the summer of 2014, with the process taking 

under 2 months from start to finish. SVP believes 

that pressure from DPS may have helped expedite 

the process and observed later that Broadline 

Foods’ requirements were not overly demanding 

and that little needed to change in their operation 

to become an approved vendor.

Though DPS has yet to purchase produce via this 

channel, the supply chain is essentially ready to be 

leveraged. The next challenge is the limited communication among DPS, Broadline Foods, and SVP, 

with a particular emphasis on achieving clarity 

from DPS about product specifications, volumes, 

and acceptable pricing. While Broadline Foods 
10

approved SVP as a vendor, the company has not 

purchased product from it yet. Broadline Foods 

says it has adequate sources for regional produce 

among its current suppliers, which may explain 

why it is not actively trying to procure from a new 

source. As noted above, when DPS has requested regional winter squash, Broadline Foods has 

sourced it from Fresh Cut Veggies. This reveals the 

important leveraging power of DPS, which could 

provide (simply by request) a strong incentive 

for Broadline Foods to work with new processors. 

Without this incentive, it seems unlikely Broadline Foods would choose to change a functioning 

supply chain.

Regionally Sourced Blueberries

Since 2011, DPS has purchased blueberries produced in southwest Michigan on a farm run by a 

third-generation black female farmer. The farm 

sells 60-65 percent of its annual production to 

DPS–about 90,000 pounds per year. (The remainder goes to other processors, with a small percentage left for the farm’s “u-pick” operation.) The 

farm is GAP-certified (and had been certified prior 

to selling to DPS).

As represented in Figure 2, the berries are transported by refrigerated truck from the farm to a 

nearby blueberry processing facility, which processes about 30 million pounds of blueberries per 

year for a range of clients. At the processor, the 

Figure 2: DPS Blueberry Supply Chain

Sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Census TIGER, U.S. Census NAICS, FOCUS interviews
11

berries are chilled, graded, packaged and frozen. 

Berries for DPS are then transported to a frozen 

storage site, where they remain until picked up by 

Broadline Foods.

The blueberry farm owns the berries throughout 

their processing and storage, until Broadline Foods

picks them up for transport to Detroit. DPS lets 

the farm know the volume of berries it would like 

during the season and receives them in two shipments of frozen berries that are stored in freezers 

at schools.

The owner of the blueberry farm expressed her 

satisfaction with this arrangement, which provides a steady client for a large portion of her 

production. Based on this experience, she would 

be interested in selling to other interested school 

districts but has not formed any such relationships.

Product Origins

Overall, we found that the produce chains that 

supply DPS typically offer the customer relatively 

little information about products’ geographic origins, although this seems to be improving 

with time.

For non-local product, Broadline Foods receives 

information on invoices and box labels that show 

the name and location of the packer (many of 

whom aggregate product from multiple farms). 

Coding on each box enables traceability by Broadline Foods to the field of origin in the event of a 

product recall, but information on product origin 

isn’t available to DPS prior to purchase, nor is it 

regularly provided after purchase. Even Broadline 

Foods does not receive information (beyond coding for traceability purposes) that identifies the 

actual grower or the grower’s location. The packer 

is as far up the chain as Broadline Foods typically 

“sees” for product that isn’t coming from farms in 

Michigan.

For product coming from Michigan, Broadline 

Foods generally receives some information about 

the grower/shipper. For example, beginning this 

season, PS has indicated Michigan-grown product 

on its invoices to Broadline Foods. This was a relatively easy change for PS to make: in the field used 

to indicate country of origin in its tracking system, 

it now indicates not only “U.S.-grown” or “Mexico-grown” but “Michigan-grown” as well. PS notes 

that it made this change in response to increased 

demand for local product and greater transparency among its clients.

However, this information on source is not, at 

this point, systematically relayed to DPS. Regular 

reporting that Broadline Foods provides to DPS 

is not sufficient to track procurement of Michigan-grown product. As a result, when periodically 

requested by DPS, Broadline Foods staff manually 

identify product from local sources by confirming purchasing orders back to a specific supplier. 

For the Harvest of the Month program, Broadline 

Foods informs DPS by email which Michigan farm 

grew a particular product and when the product 

is shipped to DPS, using information supplied by 

email or phone by its produce distribution partners. Broadline Foods indicates it is working to update its systems to be able to regularly track and 

report on produce origins. However, in addition 

to an investment in software and training, for this 

kind of system to function fully, Broadline Foods

depends on receiving origin information from its 

suppliers, in the way that Produce Solutions is now 

able to provide it. 

The DPS DoD Fresh vendor, a family-run produce 

distributor located in Columbus, OH, indicated 

that it is in the midst of instituting a new enterprise resource planning system that will enable 

improved reporting. For example, the new system 

will allow the vendor to more readily compile 

procurement data to determine how many apples 

were sourced from a particular ZIP Code. This 

distributor could then report on produce origin 

as requested, as well as maintain a system so that 

clients could go online to identify the farm that 

provided a given shipment of product.
12

In investigating the supply chains described 

above, some of the challenges to enhancing DPS’ 

regional produce procurement became evident. 

Below are the biggest obstacles we identified that 

inhibit stronger connection between DPS and 

regional growers of various scales:

1. Logistics

2. Meeting product specifications

3. Advance commitments

4. Limited growing season

5. Institutional barriers to change

Some of these are particular to DPS while others 

may be germane to any district (particularly large 

ones) looking to purchase regionally.

Logistics

DPS does not have a central kitchen or central 

warehouse, so each of over 100 DPS locations, as 

well as the charter schools and other districts DPS 

services, must receive its own produce delivery. 

This level of service is more than most produce 

distributors can provide. This limits DPS to sourcing through larger distributors who are able to 

deliver to all their locations on a regular basis. One 

mid-sized distributor interviewed also expressed 

concerns about the cost of meeting food safety 

requirements and its ability to meet those requirements profitably given the narrow margins associated with K-12 sales.

At the outset of this project, DPS requested 

that any new regional products come through 

Broadline Foods, as it is most efficient for DPS to 

receive products via regular transactions with 

their broadline distributor. As a result, any new 

manufacturer or processor hoping to join this 

supply chain must be approved as a vendor by the 

broadline distributor. While the process to become an approved vendor for Broadline Foods did 

not prove onerous for SVP, it is another step that 

a business would need to take to enter the DPS 

supply chain. This also gives Broadline Foods some 

discretion over the products available to DPS, 

since it controls approval of vendors, the number 

of vendors it actually buys from, and the price it 

pays for the product. 

In general, when DPS requests regional product, it 

does not seem that its produce distributors try to 

find additional or smaller farmers to provide this 

product. For example, Broadline Foods will turn 

to Produce Solutions or Fresh Cut Veggies, which 

in turn go to the farms that they already source 

from regionally (in some cases through relationships with growers that have spanned more than 

a generation). They may look for new farms only if 

they cannot source the product using their current 

relationships. At this point, DPS’ priority is on 

“Michigan grown” broadly, and the district hasn’t 

expressed a large or consistent enough demand 

for particular farms or types of farms to influence 

how distributors source their regional product. 

As a result, the economic benefits of DPS’ regional 

purchasing tend to be focused on growers already 

in the distribution system, rather than a broadening grower base that would include a greater 

diversity of farms. (DPS’ purchase of regional 

blueberries is a notable exception.)

Further, given that distributors typically do not 

inform growers which clients actually purchased 

their product, “participating” growers may not be 

aware that their product is ultimately sold into the 

K-12 market. This raises some important questions about the degree to which these growers will 

be cognizant of school districts’ effort to purchase 

their product in the absence of stronger efforts 

to communicate directly with them and work 

through this logistical complexity.

Meeting Product Specifications

Due to limited cooking facilities and storage space, 

DPS requires produce that has been washed, 

peeled, chopped, or otherwise prepared to its 

exact specifications and that is packaged in a form 

and size that can be stored in the space available. 

As a result, DPS cannot purchase uncut product 

Challenges of Selling Regionally Grown Produce to 

School Districts
13

directly from farmers. A processor with appropriate facilities must be involved at some point 

in the supply chain. The regional growers interviewed noted that they tend to sell to wholesalers, 

who accept produce in bushels or bins. Selling to 

schools would require finding an intermediary 

processor or negotiating a sale from a processor 

to the district.

Advance Commitments

Much of the produce in Michigan is grown under 

contract so that the farmer can be assured of the 

sale and customers can count on receiving the 

supply that they need. The farmers interviewed 

in this project typically were unwilling to plant 

significant quantities without a committed buyer, 

and this tendency toward forward contracting 

was confirmed by several produce distributors. If 

potential new customers want to purchase from 

regional farmers at harvest, they will need to 

signal their demand as early as February, when 

farmers are making cropping decisions. Advance 

commitment and clear, specific communication 

from buyers are crucial to many farmers and a 

likely requirement if DPS wants regional product 

on a reliable basis. Many of the more regionally 

oriented distributors that we interviewed echoed 

the need for a pre-season commitment. 

A district like DPS may find that its distributor 

could have trouble sourcing adequate supply if 

the district requests a regional product without 

significant advance notice. As such, strategic planning by the district is an important component of 

regional purchasing.

The ability to make future commitments is also 

important, given the investments businesses may 

need to make to expand regional purchasing. 

Examples include: a processor that would need to 

invest in new machinery (e.g., Social Venture Processors purchasing equipment to process winter 

squash); a distributor implementing new tracking systems; or a farmer that might lease or buy 

additional handling equipment, storage, or land to 

grow for a large school customer.

The risk of making such investments is particularly pronounced in the absence of secure purchasing 

arrangements. Alternatively, steady contracts with 

districts have enabled some processors to make 

these investments, such as a supplier to the DPS 

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program that was able 

to invest in equipment for individually wrapping 

produce, in large measure due to DPS’ demand 

for individually wrapped product through that 

program.

Limited Growing Season

DPS’ options for fresh, regional produce are limited by the growing season, as many crops are 

reaching the end of the harvest season by the time 

school is in session. None of the distributors interviewed handled frozen regional winter squash.

Institutional Barriers to Change

Even in organizations with the best intentions, 

implementing change to entrenched practices can 

be difficult. Shifts in district procurement, distributor purchases, and processor sourcing require 

buy-in at all levels, from leadership to those executing day-to-day activities. As we attempted to 

activate the supply chain involving Social Venture 

Processors in this project, we found that commitment to innovative regional sourcing can also vary 

greatly at different levels within large companies. 

Enthusiasm for changing procurement practices 

can be limited, as it creates more work for certain 

staff, notably those involved in the on-the-ground 

operations. In the end, unless there is the right 

mix of incentives to change at all levels, the status 

quo will likely prevail. (See Section IV for further 

discussion of potential leverage points for encouraging change.)

In many cases, behavioral change is inhibited by 

the limitations of technological systems currently 

in place. For example, Broadline Foods has indicated that its coding system does not include a 

distinct field for the farm or even State of origin, 

so, for example, it is not possible to automatically 

generate reports on all of DPS’ Michigan-grown 

purchases over a given time period. This current 

lack of product-identity information makes it difficult for clients to hold distributors accountable to 

regional purchasing goals.
14

Despite these challenges, DPS, like many other 

districts, successfully purchases and serves local 

fruits and vegetables. Based on the experience 

over the past year with DPS and the research into 

its supply chains, there are three notable elements 

to making regional procurement work in a large 

school district: 

1. Product selection

2. Finding alignment

3. Communication and collaboration

Product Selection

Though it may seem obvious, it is important for 

a school district (and any partners working with 

it) to focus on products that will work well for 

regional procurement. We used a range of criteria 

to determine our target items of winter squash 

and blueberries (see Appendix A for the full list 

of each product’s pros and cons), reflecting the 

many considerations that would need to be taken 

into account through the supply chain and into 

the cafeteria. For this project, the most important 

criteria turned out to be availability of supply and 

potential acceptance by students.

Availability is obviously important–picking a 

product without adequate supply may make procurement impossible from the outset. In this case, 

the selection of a target product was facilitated by 

Detroit Eastern Market, a knowledgeable community partner. Detroit Eastern Market was essential 

both in culling the list of potential products and 

suggesting potential growers once the decision to 

target winter squash had been made.

Student acceptability was crucial to the school district and ultimately to other partners. If the final 

menu item was not received well by students over 

time, it wouldn’t be featured again. While DPS was 

very flexible as to what the product could be, student acceptance could not be overlooked.

When choosing a product to procure regionally, it 

may also increase the chance for success to focus on procurement through a program like DoD 

Fresh or USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Working with one distributor on a smaller 

volume of product may be helpful, particularly at 

the outset. Also, in the case of the DPS, DoD Fresh, 

and FFVP distributors, the school bid represented an important part of their business, and they 

noted their appreciation for the stability of the 

market, which has allowed them to invest in new 

equipment. As a result, they were particularly eager to meet DPS desires for regional product.

DPS’ procurement of regional blueberries also 

reflects the value of choosing the right product. 

Blueberries are relatively simple to process and 

store well, and they are popular with students. 

Large quantities of blueberries are produced in 

Michigan, so the infrastructure exists to support 

the industry. This includes freezing capacity, and 

DPS purchases frozen blueberries so that they can 

be stored and used year-round.

Finding Alignment

Finding incentives

Ultimately, regional procurement must make business sense for all involved if it is to be sustainable. 

It can help for a district to make a business case 

for regional sourcing to its supply chain partners, 

either by highlighting incentives or leveraging 

shared strategic interests.

For example, in choosing a product, a district 

may want to find one that its distributor can, in 

turn, market to other customers once the regional 

Making Regional Produce Procurement Work in a Large District
15

sourcing pathway has been established. Several 

distributors we spoke with said they were willing 

to find sources for regional products when customers asked for them because they anticipated 

expanding sales of the product to other clients, 

particularly in the retail and restaurant sectors.

Mission alignment

Working with mission-aligned partners can help 

smooth the development of new supply chain 

pathways. Supply chain actors, whether for-profit 

or non-profit, who share similar values may be 

willing to be more flexible, for example, by accepting lower margins, sharing infrastructure, or 

going the extra mile to bring new growers into the 

supply chain. Both Social Venture Processors and 

Detroit Eastern Market were prepared to do so in 

this project.

Communication and Collaboration

Setting expectations

Clear, prompt, and honest communication between partners is essential to enhance or create 

a supply chain pathway. The district must articulate its needs and desires, and suppliers must be 

forthright about what’s possible for them to do. 

For example, in the case of DPS, Broadline Foods is 

willing to help DPS source regionally; at the same 

time, it helps guide the district towards what is 

most feasible within Broadline Foods’ operating 

environment. In this relationship, the distributor has been willing to source regionally where 

possible and was quick to advise as to products 

that would not be easy for it to procure within the 

State during the school year.

In return, the district must be clear about its own 

needs and requirements, especially when it comes 

to product specifications. In this project, since DPS 

had previously served winter squash, the district 

knew that it wanted fully peeled, diced squash 

that would store and cook easily.

Pricing

Though it can be an especially sensitive topic, it 

is imperative that pricing not be avoided — discussing price is critical to developing supply 

chains. In our work with DPS and Social Venture 

Processors, the first steps to determine mutually 

workable pricing were slow: the processor’s price 

depended on the volume DPS would purchase, 

and the volume DPS would purchase might change 

depending on the price. When SVP ultimately did 

provide a price for a peeled, diced winter squash, 

it proved too high, and DPS was able to procure a 

similar product via another processor for less. In a 

final interview, SVP noted that it would be willing 

to continue to negotiate on price in order to serve 

DPS. Clearly, communication about price and flexibility is crucial.

This also underscores the importance of budgeting and forecasting within the district–if a meal 

program can predict its usage and the amount it 

has to spend on a product, it can negotiate more 

concretely with its suppliers. The distributor, processor, and grower can then negotiate on prices 

among themselves. And as noted above, it is these 

commitments to pricing and volume that allow 

growers to plant appropriately and ensure supply, 

and processors and distributors to invest in necessary infrastructure.

Community partners

Partners outside of the supply chain, such as 

community-based organizations, can be useful in 

facilitating dialogue and sharing important information that a supplier might not have, particularly 

if the partner is already embedded in the community and knowledgeable about the regional food 

system, such as Detroit Eastern Market. A partner 

could also communicate with regional producers 

about opportunities to participate in K-12 supply 

chains, addressing the finding above that farmers 

may be unaware when their produce is used in 

schools or of the demand for regionally grown 

produce in school districts.
16

However, partners should always be aware of their 

limitations in the process. Ultimately, they cannot 

make business decisions for any of the players 

involved. Also, it is important to recognize when 

there are too many players in the mix. Partners 

should think carefully about the value that they 

add to the process and focus where they can play 

a clear and useful role. For example, buyers and 

sellers may be less willing to speak openly about 

price when those not involved in the transaction 

are part of the conversation.

Commitment

Lastly, the single most important factor in regional produce procurement by schools seems to be 

the commitment on the part of the district itself. 

Whether the barriers are many or few, enthusiasm 

and persistence, especially from district leadership, is critical. School food service leadership 

must continuously voice desire for regional products to suppliers. The five distributors interviewed 

in this research all acknowledged that their customers’ demand for “local” had influenced the 

company’s sourcing practices. Customers who 

request the product and hold their vendors accountable are crucial to building durable regional 

supply chains.
17

Looking Forward

DPS has continued to procure regional produce 

as well as other regional products in the first half 

of school year 2014-15. It maintained its Harvest 

of the Month program, including serving regional 

winter squash in December, and served produce 

grown on DPS’ own farm early in the year. As a 

member of the School Food FOCUS Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab, DPS sourced chicken 

drumsticks produced and processed in the Midwest for Food Day in October 2014. The district 

has also continued to procure milk and some 

baked goods produced in-State.

DPS plans to expand procurement of regional 

products, particularly protein and produce. The 

district will purchase regionally sourced chicken 

drumsticks, made from chickens raised without 

antibiotics, for the end of this school year and 

next. The Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab 

is also exploring opportunities to purchase 

regionally grown legume blends.

For produce, there are new opportunities as DPS 

nears the end of its current broadline distributor 

contract. Whereas past contracts included produce with other foods and supplies, for this next 

term, DPS will issue a separate request for proposals for produce distribution, which may include 

a specific mandate for regional purchasing. This 

offers a chance for the district to contract with 

a smaller, locally based produce distributor well 

suited to sourcing regionally and with a mandate 

to do so from DPS.

There are several types of support that could be 

useful to DPS in its efforts to expand regional procurement.

● As noted in this report, the short Michigan 

growing season limits the produce available 

to DPS. Investment in infrastructure such 

as freezing facilities and hoop houses could 

help increase the supply of produce available year round.

● DPS’ ability to receive, store, prepare, and 

serve produce would expand with targeted upgrades and new equipment, such as 

refrigerated cold tables, as part of a system-wide overhaul of meal program facilities.

● DPS harvests zucchini, tomatoes, corn, and 

other items from its own farm; however, it 

has had difficulty finding ways to wash and 

process these products. Support for processing equipment or partnerships with local 

processors could expand its ability to use 

this ultra-local produce.

● We found that many farmers do not see 

themselves as part of a supply chain to 

schools, so there is opportunity for better 

education to farmers and processors about 

selling to DPS, including what products are 

desirable, what the district requires in terms 

of product specifications and food safety, 

and which distributors the district works 

with. This type of outreach to farmers could 

help bring new participants into the school 

food supply chain and/or expand sales by 

current participants.

● DPS could benefit from continued opportunities to interact with other districts in 

the region who are doing or interested in 

regional procurement. For example, the DPS 

chef participated in a “Culinary Boot Camp” 

at Minneapolis Public Schools, where districts in the region shared ideas on regional 

procurement and learned new recipes for 

cooking with regional products. Such opportunities for face-to-face interaction, potentially also involving producers, processors, 

and other supply chain participants, could 

prove useful to working through the issues 

that arise in regional procurement.
18

Appendixes

● Appendix A: Detroit Public Schools Purchasing Data

These tables show details of the DPS meal program (i.e., enrollment, free and reduced eligibility 

rate, food spending) and produce procurement (methods, spending, percentage regional, and most 

common items) for SY 2012-13 and 2013- 14.

● Appendix B: Pros and Cons of Potential Target Products

Appendix B briefly describes the process partners used to determine the project’s target produce 

items, with the full list of products considered and the opportunities and benefits each presented.

● Appendix C: Supply Chain Mapping

Appendix C describes the supply chain mapping and visualization activities of the project and is 

followed by a selection of the images developed.
19

Appendix A: Detroit Public Schools Purchasing Data

The tables below contain data reflecting details of the DPS meal program and produce procurement 

in SY 2012-13 and SY 2013-14. These were collected by School Food FOCUS in fall 2013 and 2014.

SY 2013-14 SY 2012-13

Enrollment 52,413 students 53,985 students

Free/Reduced Rate 84% * 84%

Total Amount Spent on Food $24.6 million $20.5 million

*DPS participates in the Community Eligibility Program, which allows the district to serve free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students.

Total Produce Spending by Distributor

Procurement Method SY 2013-14 SY 2012-13

Broadline Foods $5,744,400 $5,010,993

Regional $273,445 $223,008

Department of Defense Fresh Program $593,855 $775,000

Regional $380,067 $430,575

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program* $104,913 $104,913

TOTAL $6,443,168 $6,124,057

* Data on DPS’ SY 2013-14 purchases via the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program were unavailable, so SY 2012 -13 spending 

was used as an estimate.

Top Regional Vegetables Purchased (by spending)

SY 2013-14 SY 2012-13

Tomato Celery

Acorn squash Asparagus

Asparagus Acorn squash

Celery Potato

Vegetable blend

Top Regional Fruits Purchased (by spending)

SY 2013-14 SY 2012-13

Apple Apple

Blueberry Peach

Peach
20

Appendix B: Pros and Cons of Potential Target Products

At the outset of this project, FOCUS, DPS, and Detroit Eastern Market discussed a range of products to 

target in this project. FOCUS also spoke with DPS produce vendors for their opinion on the feasibility of 

sourcing the potential products regionally. Via several in- person and phone conversations, FOCUS staff 

gleaned the pros and cons listed below, and from a final list of four items, the DPS food service director 

chose winter squash, beets, and blueberries to target. (As noted above, DPS ultimately decided that beets 

would be too difficult to integrate into the menu.)

Apples

Pros Cons

FFVP product Too obvious a choice?

Widely grown in the United States

DPS already does local apples well (but are its Red 

Delicious coming from Washington and could they 

be replaced with MI-grown and more varieties?)

Well accepted by kids

Kids already eat apples. This wouldn’t broaden 

their palate as much as a food that’s totally new to 

them (although different varieties would be new).

Introduce kids to new apple varieties

Already used by DPS/comfortable with it/ doesn’t 

require new recipe

If DPS purchases of Red Delicious are, in fact, 

from Washington, could potentially shift large $ 

amounts to regional product

Widespread disdain for red delicious, and K-12 

desire to find local apples/other varieties

Higher $ volume item

Opportunity to compare supply chain for red 

delicious to DPS’s existing “various, sliced 2oz” and 

local options — good story to tell

Potential for a year-round schedule of different 

varieties

Potential to purchase surpluses of unusual 

varieties — get deals and help growers

Can be frozen
21

Asparagus

Pros Cons

DPS would be excited Does it count as green or not?

Grown widely in Michigan Wouldn’t work for FFVP

Would introduce kids to new food Expensive (goes into DoD Fresh distributor at 

Social Venture Processors could process it Not widely grown outside Michigan

Available in spring (May 1 – June 15)

Asparagus growers don’t generally sell to schools, 

so could expand there

DPS has menued a couple times, so some 

familiarity

Potential to show increased purchases

Good story about growers shifting from processing to fresh market and expanding into K-12

Beets

Pros Cons

DPS would be excited Does not count as red

Grown widely in Michigan Wouldn’t work for FFVP

Grown widely around the country by farmers of 

various sizes

Could show increased purchases — baseline for 

DPS = zero

Social Venture Processors could cut it and maybe 

parboil it, also freeze it. DEM and DPS both 

want to work with SVP. Good example of nonmainstream supply chain partner

Social Venture Processors is a non-profit, so 

cost savings may be possible, depending on its 

production efficiency

Stores well and can be frozen

Available later in the school year

Would introduce kids to new food
22

Broccoli

Pros Cons

Can be an FFVP product Limited growing range in the United States

Counts as a green vegetable Growers may be deterred from growing 

broccoli due to labor shortages for harvest

If we select apples, good to choose a second 

focal product that is less mainstream. DPS not excited

DPS broccoli purchases are now small and likely 

not local—could potentially show larger change 

in buying more and shifting to regional

Would need to contract in advance with growers 

because “there’s no surplus available,” per DoD 

Fresh produce distributor

Local season runs into early November

DoD Fresh produce distributor says local 

product is mostly grown by growers that aren’t 

GAP certified

Carrots

Pros Cons

Would work for FFVP Not new to the kids

Counts as an orange/red vegetable

Carrot coins from DoD Fresh produce distributor 

would be more expensive than the baby carrots 

from CA that DPS would normally buy (5 cents 

more per pound or a penny per individually 

wrapped pack)

Plenty of production in Michigan

DoD Fresh produce distributor could cut coins 

(but not baby carrots)

Available later in the school year/stores well

Kids like them

Familiar to DPS/wouldn’t require new recipe
23

Kale

Pros Cons

Grown locally in MI and across the country Not currently familiar to kids

Grown by smaller farmers Limited acceptability with kids in the future?

Counts as a green vegetable Would need DPS to adopt a new recipe—too 

many steps to readily change procurement?

Could freeze it Volume potential is likely to be low

A food that is becoming popular Not an FFVP product, so would have to work 

through broadline distributor

Would introduce kids to a new food DPS doesn’t like this idea

Salad Mix/Lettuce

Pros Cons

Counts as a green under USDA

Lack of viable local product. Michigan-grown 

romaine lettuce has performance problems. 

Celery cabbage not grown any longer in 

Michigan

Opportunity to research and/or involve 

greenhouse growers (but too expensive?) Not an FFVP product

Introduce kids to a new food Can’t be frozen

Grape Tomatoes

Pros Cons

Would work for FFVP DPS hasn’t asked to source this crop

DEM grower does grape tomatoes in large 

volumes

Availability in Michigan

DoD Fresh distributors has the growers in 

place
24

Winter Squash

Pros Cons

DPS would be excited Not FFVP

Grown widely in Michigan

Grown widely around the country by farmers 

of various sizes

Social Venture Processors could process it

Counts as orange/red

Growing popularity in K-12

DPS has not bought butternut before, but used 

acorn successfully

Would introduce kids to a new food

Could be good as a cosmetically imperfect 

second — savings and demonstration model?

Available late into the school year

Stores well
25

Zucchini / Summer Squash

Pros Cons

Works for FFVP Doesn’t count as a green veg

Long season Not good for freezing

Plenty of local supply

Grown on farms of all sizes and grown widely 

across the country

DPS already uses in StopLight Salad which 

includes zucchini

Could be grown at DPS farm and is already 

grown at many DPS gardens

Widely used by schools

Could be good as a cosmetically imperfect 

second — cost savings and demonstration 

model?

Potential to show significant increase in 

purchasing given small current purchases

Legend:

Detroit Public Schools (DPS)

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)

Department of Defense Fresh (DoD Fresh)

Detroit Eastern Market (DEM)
26

Appendix C: Supply Chain Mapping

One element of this project was to use mapping models to determine supply chain opportunities. However, the project timeline unfolded such that the target products were chosen without the mapping 

consultant team. Rather, our sense of availability of products and processing capacity came from Detroit 

Eastern Market and conversations with the produce suppliers to Detroit Public Schools about what they 

could source. The mapping models that were later created using USDA Census of Agriculture data 

confirmed what we had learned anecdotally—winter squash and blueberries are widely grown in the 

State and representative of the region (see Figures 3 and 4). Using this publicly available USDA data 

when initially choosing a type of produce to target could be useful if anecdotal evidence isn’t adequate 

or available.

Similarly, business and industry data from the U.S. Census can be helpful in identifying potential partners 

for regional processing and procurement. As Figures 3 and 4 indicate, there are many fruit and vegetable 

growers and processors in Michigan. Without a partner like Detroit Eastern Market to suggest particular 

growers and a processor, this kind of list could be used to begin a search, limiting it to firms of the 

needed scale.

Figure 3: Blueberry Production and Processing in Michigan

Sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Census TIGER, U.S. Census NAICS, FOCUS interviews
27

It should also be noted that these maps were useful within FOCUS in understanding the flows and sources of produce moving into DPS. FOCUS plans to continue using them to help explain supply chain intricacies to other districts, advocates, and other audiences.

Figure 4: Squash Production and Processing in Michigan

Sources: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Census TIGER, U.S. Census NAICS, FOCUS interviews
28