School district pledges to buy locally after drawing heat for international purchase

Sacramento City Unified School District has vowed to purchase locally after triggering a firestorm by buying fruit from China instead of local sources.

The pledge was made by Nutrition Services Director Brenda Padilla in an open letter that ran in The Sacramento Bee—the newspaper that broke the story about the district’s purchase of canned peaches, pears and applesauce from China.

Although the district had no doubts about the safety of the Chinese supplies and was well-intentioned in its action, Padilla wrote, it is making changes so as not to let it happen again.

She also noted that SCUSD fears its error may squander efforts of becoming a farm-to-school model for other districts.



“Our cafeterias serve 50,000 meals a day, giving us an opportunity and obligation to improve the lives of students through better nutrition. Our challenge is that we are reimbursed by the federal government at a rate of between about $1.50 and $3 per meal. It would be tempting to stretch those dollars by eliminating costlier fresh fruits and vegetables. We haven’t done that,” Padilla wrote in The Bee.

As reported by FoodService Director, the district’s actions recently caused fifty agriculture organizations to send a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging him to strengthen enforcement of the Buy American provision for participants in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

Read the Padilla’s full letter via The Sacramento Bee.