CKC buys local - and American

CKC Good Food prides itself on providing the freshest, most tasteful food possible to our client schools. Our menus feature a wide variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, the origins of which depend upon the time of year.

During the summer growing season in Minnesota, we work with H.Brooks Produce Company, the Hmong American Farmers Association and other vendors to secure broccoli, strawberries, apples, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots and many other fruits and vegetables for our meals. We also look to local ranches and processors for proteins and grains. We love supporting local farms, and our local economy, as much as possible, when they can accommodate the volume of food we need.

When its not possible to purchase local ingredients, we work with our distributor, Upper Lakes Foods, to honor the Buy American Act. Buying American produce, proteins, grains and dairy products assures our foods meet inspection and safety protocols set forth by the federal government while supporting the American economy. All of our proteins and the majority of our other foods originate in the U.S. Sometimes availability and pricing, however, require us to use produce grown outside the U.S. For example, the demand for pineapple, which is very popular with students, far exceeds the amount that can be grown in Hawaii. In this case, we need to secure pineapple from Latin American or South American countries at times. Bananas are another example of produce not readily available from domestic sources.

We will make substitutions in our menus based on what's in season, what will be widely accepted by students and what will conform to the menu week's meal pattern requirements. Since all of our menus are structured to meet the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act calorie limits and multiple vegetable subgroups, substitutions can have an unforeseen ripple effect throughout a menu week that affects our schools as well as CKC. We prefer to avoid this situation when we can.

Auditors have not questioned our purchasing practices to date, however, there has been more discussion about the Buy American Act under the Trump administration, which may result in stricter enforcement of its provisions. While all of our proteins/meats and the majority of our other foods originate domestically, CKC will seek waivers for non-domestic produce, when necessary, or make appropriate substitutions and notify our schools of these changes.