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Lake Travis ISD approves Farm‑to‑School local foods awards, cites supply continuity and local farms
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Summary
The board awarded a Farm‑to‑School local foods RFP after staff said six vendors and over 40 farms participated; the contracts include primary, secondary and tertiary awards for supply continuity and a piggyback clause for other districts.
Lake Travis ISD trustees approved awards for a Farm‑to‑School Local Foods RFP on Feb. 25, authorizing primary, secondary and tertiary vendor designations to secure locally sourced produce and proteins for school meals.
District staff said six vendor responses covered more than 20 unique line items and represented over 40 farms located between roughly 15 and 350 miles from the district. The evaluation team scored vendors on line-item criteria (price, proximity) and vendor-level criteria (food-safety plans and other documentation). The approach assigns primary, secondary and tertiary awards to preserve supply continuity when farms experience seasonal or weather-related shortfalls.
Leanca Solis, part of the evaluation team, explained that some items were not awarded because of allergen, pack-size or seasonality constraints, but the overall bid tab supports a broad locally sourced menu. The contract includes a piggyback clause so other districts can use the award.
Trustees praised the nutrition team’s work and noted the initiative supports local farms and could be a model for neighboring districts. A motion to award the RFP as presented carried unanimously.
Administration said staff will work with awarded vendors on logistics and with nutrition services to incorporate the items into school menus.
