Northwest Horticultural Council
Buy American
The Northwest Horticultural Council supports the passage of H.R. 465, the American Food for American Schools Act. While there technically is a “Buy American” policy in place for programs like the National School Lunch Program, an exemption allows schools to bypass this requirement if there is a “significant cost differential” between domestic and foreign-sourced products. This exemption provides considerable latitude to schools to make this determination, which has led to taxpayer-funded Chinese canned fruit (including canned pears) routinely being served in U.S. schools.
The American Food for American Schools Act strengthens the Buy American requirements for the National School Lunch Program by requiring schools to request a waiver from USDA to purchase foreign commodities, and if issued, to publish the waiver on their website.
02/11/2022