Laguna Beach Unified Joins Nation's First Organic School Food Purchasing Co-op

The Laguna Beach Unified School District has joined the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Co-op, a first-of-its-kind initiative that pools the buying power of California school districts to bring more organic food into school kitchens. The district announced the move on its website this week, saying the cooperative will use collective purchasing to expand access to organic ingredients.

Conscious Kitchen, the nonprofit behind the co-op, announced its official launch on Sept. 29. Seventeen founding districts, including Laguna Beach USD, serve more than 300,000 students combined. The co-op has partnered with distributors UNFI and Sysco to connect schools with organic farmers, ranchers and food makers, and Mt. Diablo Unified School District serves as the lead on the co-op’s grocery bid.

A farmer harvests cherry tomatoes on a farm in Sanger, California. The Conscious Co-op has partnered with distributors UNFI and Sysco to connect schools with growers.

USDA photo by Bob Nichols, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Source

“Schools serve more than a billion meals every year in California. That is an extraordinary market,” said Judi Shils, founder and executive director of Conscious Kitchen. “When districts come together and say, ‘This is what we want to buy,’ farmers, food makers and distributors can respond.”

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond called the co-op “an innovative model for helping districts expand access to organic food, create stronger markets for California farmers and producers, and show what is possible when schools work together at scale.” He added: “Every student deserves access to fresh, nutritious food at school.”

Fresh produce at a California farmers market. Other eligible districts can access the co-op's contracts through piggybacking without running their own bids.

Emerika, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Source

Other eligible California school districts can access the co-op’s contracts through piggybacking, giving them a pathway to co-op products and pricing without running their own bids, according to the launch announcement. As participation grows, the co-op plans to add more organic products.