DOD Foods in Schools

The DOD Fresh Produce program provides many advantages for our K-12 segment. These include dependable deliveries, better buying power, a greater emphasis on high quality fruits and vegetables, a larger selection of various produce items including pre-cut and locally grown. The program website tracks each account’s available funds and makes ordering easy. USDA DoD Fresh vendors update weekly and schools can receive deliveries from the available catalog as often as every week, making orders dependable, fresh, and responsive to market changes. States and schools place orders directly with DSCP for a vast selection of American- grown fresh products like sliced apples. States and schools that want to purchase local foods through USDA DoD Fresh should start by looking for products already marked with the state or origin in the FFAVORS catalog. States and schools can also contact their USDA DoD Fresh produce vendor to find out which local products the vendor expects to carry throughout the year, or to make their interest in local produce known to the USDA DoD Fresh vendor. 

Making sure a variety of  fresh fruits and vegetables are available to all schools is the focus of the DOD. USDA DoD Fresh offers many different types and varieties of produce, all grown in the United States. School districts can choose between different package sizes, whole or pre-cut options, and can select locally grown produce when in season.  Utilizing the USDA DoD emphasis on local farming. The USDA supports American agricultural producers through purchases of 100% American grown and produced foods for use by schools and institutions participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), among others. USDA DoD Fresh is another choice in a request-driven system to help States and school districts manage and utilize USDA Foods entitlement more effectively. 

DoD program maintains high quality standards through Produce Quality Audits, requires processors to follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP), and requires that pre-cut apples are sourced from approved domestic suppliers, such as Sunset Orchard.

Kids eat more fruits and vegetables, when more fruits and vegetables are offered throughout their day. A recent Harvard study reported that, under the updated standards for school meals, kids are now eating 16 percent more vegetables and 23 percent more fruit at lunch. The DoD program helps schools meet meal pattern requirements in ways that boost student acceptance of various fruit and vegetable offerings that otherwise may not have been an option without the DoD program. 

Allowing schools access and availability of a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables guarantees that there is something for everyone. It also gives schools the opportunity to introduce kids to different types of fruits and vegetables that they may not have had the opportunity to try before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. They contain essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients that are essential for good health. In fact, research has shown that a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. The health benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables far outweigh the reasons to consume them in any other form such as juices or canned.