WELCOME to Farm to SAUSD

Welcome to the Farm to SAUSD resource page. Here you will learn about the Santa Ana Unified School District’s efforts to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables directly from local growers. Farmers interested in selling their produce to SAUSD are introduced to the procurement requirements and good agricultural practices (GAPs) necessary to become a Farm to SAUSD vendor. This resource page is broken into five main components:

• GAPs Checklist and Resource Hub
• Prospective Vendor (Farm) Procurement Requirements
• Resource Links
• Farm to SAUSD FAQs
• General Information

GAPs Checklist and Resource Hub

Prospective Vendor (Farm) Procurement Requirements

• W9
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Grower’s Certificate
• ***Certificate of General Liability: $1,000,000 / $2,000,000
• Certificate of Automobile Liability: $1,000,000
• Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Certification
• Additional information: Santa Ana Unified School District Contracts Handbook

***Language Needed on COI:

Under “DESCRIPTION OF OPERATIONS / LOCATIONS / VEHICLES (ACORD 101, Additional Remarks Schedule, may be attached if more space is required)”: Santa Ana Unified School District, including its officers, agents, employees and volunteers. 1601 East Chestnut Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92701-6322

Under Certificate Holder:

Santa Ana Unified School District, 1601 East Chestnut Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701-6322

Please click the banner below for our Farm to School Annual Report.

Resource Links

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) National School Lunch Program (NSLP) https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) GAPs Audits https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/gap-ghp

California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/or/nsd.asp

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/

How to Navigate the GAPs Checklist Video

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Farm to SAUSD FAQs

What is Farm to SAUSD?

Farm to SAUSD represents the Santa Ana Unified School District’s commitment to creating sustainable food solutions. Central to this vision is a direct connection with farms to provide fresh, local fruits and vegetables to our students.

What are the benefits of Farm to SAUSD?

Several positive outcomes are attributed to buying fresh produce directly from local farms. Students are served more nutritious foods, fresh produce travels shorter distances, thereby reducing the carbon footprint, small farmers have access to more business opportunities, and the District’s true food supply chain is strengthened by gaining direct access to food producers and growers.

What is required of my farm to sell fresh produce directly to SAUSD?

In addition to the requirements outlined in the “Prospective Vendor (Farm) Procurement Requirements” section, farmers must be Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) certified, or meet SAUSD’s minimum GAPs standards (outlined in the Farm to SAUSD GAPs checklist). Additionally, a farm’s crop output will determine its ability to provide for SAUSD’s more than 40,000 students.

What is the purpose of the Farm to SAUSD resource page?

The Farm to SAUSD resource hub is a place where farmers can learn more about SAUSD’s purchasing, food safety, and meal pattern requirements, and a place where students, parents, and community members can learn about the Farm to SAUSD program.

What is a GAPs Certification?

GAPs is a voluntary program that verifies the safe growing, handling, packing, and/or holding of produce. Source: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) | Institute for Food Safety at Cornell University. https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/resources/nys-grown-certified/good-agricultural-practices-gaps/

Where can I get a GAPs Certification?

https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/groupgap

https://www.nsf.org/testing/food/food-safety-audits-certifications/agriculture-farming/globalgap

What if I Cannot Get a GAPs Certification for my Farm?

SAUSD’s GAPs Checklist and Resource hub was created by SAUSD to ensure farm-direct foods are safe for consumption. The checklist is a set of good agricultural practices SAUSD staff will look for on a farm before considering purchasing its fresh produce. For farms that do not have a GAPs certification, SAUSD’s GAPs Checklist enumerates the practices a farm must have in place or adopt prior to selling fresh produce to the District. Each component described on the checklist is paired with a resource (sometimes multiple resources) to inform farmers on the associated practice and provide examples of the practice in the field. Once a farm is ready to receive a Farm to SAUSD inspection, SAUSD staff will visit the farm to confirm the GAPs checklist practices are in place on the farm.

How Often Will SAUSD Inspect my Farm?

SAUSD is committed to ensuring all foods served to its students and staff are the safest, highest quality foods available. In addition to the resources SAUSD is providing to help farmers enhance and maintain good agricultural practices on theirs farms, SAUSD will perform annual inspections of farms to verify such practices are adopted into practice.

General Information

About SAUSD

www.sausd.us/aboutus

About SAUSD’s Child Nutrition Program

SAUSD is a sponsor of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs (NSLP and SBP), the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Seamless Summer Feeding Option (SSO). SAUSD provides catering and vendor services. SAUSD operates more than 55 foodservice locations with a team of 342 foodservice professionals throughout SAUSD. The central kitchen is located at 1749 E Carnegie Ave, and processes and distributes more than 45,000 meals per day. SAUSD produces and serves more than 12 million breakfasts, lunches, and other meals annually.

• Offers breakfast, lunch, snack, and supper to all SAUSD students at no charge
• Offers free meals to all community members ages 1 to 18 during the summer at more than 60 locations throughout the City of Santa Ana
• Daily serves between 20,000 and 40,000 fruit and/or vegetable servings (1/2 cup to 1 cup)
• Plans menus based on student input
• Operates a central kitchen and distribution warehouse
• Operates catering services for District events

Foodservice Operations Locations

• Central Production Kitchen and Distribution Center, and Receiving Warehouse
• 37 Elementary School Satellite Kitchens
• 8 intermediate School Satellite Kitchens
• 7 High School Production Kitchens
• 2 High School Satellite Kitchens
• 1 District Cafeteria Kitchen

Delivery Service Locations

• 3 Private Schools (under vendor agreements)
• 25 Pre-K sites
• 9 Head Start sites
• 63 Summer Feeding Sites (comprised of SAUSD locations, and City of Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Centers)

SAUSD Contact Information

Department of Nutrition Services

www.sausd.us/nutrition

Farm2SAUSD@sausd.us

Main Line: (714) 431-1900

1749 E Carnegie Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705

Department of Purchasing and Transportation

www.sausd.us/purchasing

Purchasing@SAUSD.US

Main Line: (714) 558-5895

1601 East Chestnut Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92701