The Buy American Provision
The Buy American provision was added to the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) by Section 104(d) of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-336). Section 12(n) to the NSLA (42 USC 1760(n)), requiring school food authorities (SFAs) to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodity or product.
A “Domestic Commodity or Product” is defined as an agricultural commodity or product that is produced or processed in the United States using substantial agricultural commodities that are produced in the United States.
“Substantial” means that over 51 percent of the final processed product consists of agricultural commodities that were grown domestically.
Products from Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands are allowable under this provision as territories of the United States.
The Buy American provision (7 CFR Part 210.21(d)) is one of the procurement standards SFAs must comply with when purchasing commercial food products served in the school meals programs.
Buy American Resources
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Buy American – Noncompliant Product List (Schools may use this document to track product(s) purchased which do not comply with the Buy American provision)
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Buy American Provision Attestation for Agricultural Product(s) Purchased Between School and Contractor (Schools may use this attestation to track product(s) which do not have country of origin labeling and for purchases that do not comply with the Buy American provision)
