Good Food Purchasing Program At Boston Public Schools
The Boston Public School system is one of the largest daily food providers in the city. It has a tremendous opportunity to ensure the food provided to students is healthy, locally sourced, and reflects equity and justice along the entire food supply chain.
Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) at Boston Public Schools (BPS) serves more than 8 million meals per year –– including breakfast, lunch, after school meals, and summer meals –– across 123 school buildings. With a food budget of approximately $18 million, BPS FNS is the largest school district purchaser of food in New England, allowing the City to improve the quality of school meals while also accelerating broader food system reform.
Boston’s Good Food Purchasing Program began with BPS. By fall 2025, BPS demonstrated significant progress with the release of a new good food assessment by the Center for Good Food Purchasing, recognizing the district for serving students fresh, nutritious, and locally sourced meals.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Food Justice
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1 City Hall Square
Room 804Boston, MA 02201
Assessments: Background
In 2022, the Center for Good Food Purchasing (The Center) analyzed Boston Public Schools’ food purchases from the 2019–2020 school year as a first step in implementing the city’s Good Food Purchasing Standards Ordinance. The baseline report was finalized and published in 2023, followed by a second assessment of purchasing in the 2023-2024 school year.
Like many cities’ first assessments, the baseline faced data gaps despite strong efforts by BPS. In 2023–2024, data completeness improved by nearly 50%. BPS remains committed to leading on values-based purchasing and will use these assessments to guide future food planning.
2023-2024 Assessment: Documents
- View a companion document explaining how The Center determined the scores.
- View FAQs about the assessment and BPS's score.
- View the full assessment technical document.
Baseline Assessment: Documents
- View a companion document explaining how The Center determined the scores.
- View FAQs about the assessment and BPS's score.
- View the full assessment technical document.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Food Justice
-
1 City Hall Square
Room 804Boston, MA 02201
