There must be written specifications for all products purchased, and instructions provided all potential vendors must be identical. These guidelines exist to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used prudently and that there is fair competition among vendors for federal dollars. A purchasing cooperative offers many advantages especially for small and medium-sized school districts. Cooperatives pool buying capacity by negotiating purchasing contracts as one, cooperative buying agency. Combined buying power may even influence what is available in the marketplace.
Cooperatives also pool the knowledge of buyers who can learn from one another.
Each member of a purchasing cooperative brings to the team a knowledge of products and vendor reliability for the collective benefit of all. Joining a cooperative will make it necessary to be flexible and to compromise for the benefit of the total group. Members of a cooperative must agree on the description of products to be purchased and other stipulations in the purchasing contract. This may mean that the pack size or product specifications will change to meet the desires of most, and some members of the cooperative will have to compromise because the team makes decisions for the benefit of the whole group. The basic philosophy is to provide a winning situation for school districts, food manufacturers, and food distributors.