Buy American Provision

Forms & Resource Center

Buy American Provision

The Buy American Provision requires School Food Authorities (SFAs) to purchase, to the maximum extent possible, domestic commodities or products. This provision supports the mission of the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) to serve children nutritious meals in schools and support American Agriculture. Policy memo SP 23-2024 identifies updates and changes to the Buy American Provision published in the final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (89 FR 31962, April 25, 2024).

The Buy American Provision supports SFAs in their effort to purchase food used in the school nutrition programs from local, or small, minority, and women-owned businesses. SFA’s are encouraged to purchase food products from local and regional sources. Visit the Nebraska Department of Education’s Farm to School page for information and resources.

A threshold that limits the percent of total commercial food cost from non-domestic foods went into effect on July 1, 2025. The phased-in approach will allow SFAs to adjust to these limits over a seven-year time span.

•          SY 2025-26 – the non-domestic food purchase cap will be 10 percent
•          SY 2028-29 – the non-domestic food purchase cap will be 8 percent
•          SY 2031-32 – the non-domestic food purchase cap will be 5 percent

Buy American Provision Training

Please watch the Buy American training. It provides important information for SY2025-26: training video.

Buy American Tracking Tool

School food authorities must track all non-domestic food purchases used in the meals provided through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs using the USDA’s Buy American Tracking Tool.

Limited Exceptions to Buy American Requirement

A temporary accommodation is available for SFAs that are not able to meet the 10% non-domestic cap for food purchases in SY2025-26. The accommodation applies to non-domestic purchases that meet one or more of the exceptions identified below.

Limited exceptions to the Buy American requirements are allowed for the following reasons:

1.    The product is listed on the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) Non-available articles list found at 48 CFR 25.104 and/or is not produced or manufactured in the US in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of satisfactory quality; or
2.    Competitive bids reveal the costs of a U.S. product are significantly higher than the non-domestic product

The items listed on the FAR Non-Available Articles list must be counted toward the cap on non-domestic purchase cap.

Policy memo 09-2025 offers guidance for the SY2025-26 Buy American accommodation process in 7 CFR 210.21(d)(8) and 7 CFR 220.16(d)(8).

SFAs that are unable to comply with the 10% non-domestic purchase cap must submit the Buy American Accommodation Request form. This form should be submitted just one time in SY2025-26, and only by SFAs that cannot comply with the 10% non-domestic purchase cap.

Buy American Provision Requirements: Bids, Solicitations, and Contracts

The Buy American Provision must be included in all bids, solicitations, and contracts for food items used in the school nutrition programs.

Example Solicitation and Contract Language

Buy American Provision Compliance:

• In accordance with 7 CFR 210.21(d), all apples must be grown, harvested, and packed in the United States.
• Vendors must certify compliance with the Buy American provision by submitting a signed affidavit stating the domestic origin of the product.
• Exceptions to the Buy American provision will only be considered under the following conditions:
  1. The product is not produced or manufactured in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of a satisfactory quality.
  2. Competitive bids reveal the cost of a U.S. product is significantly higher than a non-domestic product.
• Any request for exception must be submitted in writing and approved by the School Food Authority prior to procurement/delivery.

USDA Foods

SFA’s are encouraged to maximize their use of USDA Foods, which comply with the Buy American Provision requirements. However, processed end products that contain USDA Foods need to meet the minimum requirement of 51 percent domestic, by weight or volume.

Geographic Preference

The USDA Expanded Geographic Preference Option helps to ease challenges for Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) related to buying local products. CNP operators may now use “locally grown”, “locally raised”, or “locally caught” as a specification for local unprocessed agricultural products. CNP operators can also apply a geographic preference through additional points or credit during an evaluation for local unprocessed agricultural products. More information about the Expanded Geographic Preference Option can be found in USDA Memo SP 22-2024, CACFP 08-2024, SFSP 13-2024: Geographic Preference Expansion Related to the Final Rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.