ABSTRACT
Measuring a country’s success by sole reference to its Gross National Product has received criticism since 1968, but its use has not changed since then. Like our modern agricultural system, it is a practice that grew out of the policy ethos of mid-twentieth-century post World War II/Cold War economics and geopolitics. The current US school food system was also developed during that time and was a factor in the success of the current agro-industrial practices as a result of the market support that it was created to provide to the sector. The twenty-first century is seeing a rise in the concept of public food procurement as a tool for system change. The Good Food Purchasing Program, developed as a Los Angeles Mayor’s initiative, is one such programmatic tool. Through its structure and rating system, it measures the progress of schools and other municipal institutions toward five key values: local economies, environmental sustainability, fair labor, animal welfare, and nutritional health. In this, it reflects the core principles of True Cost Accounting frameworks and exerts a community facing influence on the food system. While the Program has achieved notable success since its launch in 2021, incentive programs are recommended to enable greater success in achieving the program goals.
