Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) is seeking bid proposals from farms and organizations interested in selling sustainably grown and raised foods to our school district’s Farm to School Program for the 2022-2023 school year.
To learn more and download a copy of this year’s Farm to School Fresh Produce RFP, please visit MPS’ Open Bids and Proposals website and click on "RFP 22-17 Farm to School Food". This year’s expanded RFP includes a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, free-range chicken and turkey, grass-fed beef, dried legumes, rolled oats, wild rice, and more.
Each winter, MPS releases its Farm to School Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify Farm to School partner farms and items for the next school year through a competitive bidding process. All interested farms, farm cooperatives, food hubs, and aggregators are invited to complete the RFP to share information about their farm(s) and bid on specific food items. Farm to School partner farms and items are selected based on price, customer service, product quality, environmental sustainability, supplier diversity, and grower values.
For additional information about our Farm to School Program and RFP process, please review the following materials from MPS' recent Farm to School Informational Meeting for Growers:
MPS selects partner produce farms through an annual, competitive bidding process. All interested farms, farm cooperatives, food hubs, and aggregators are invited to complete our Farm to School Fresh Produce Request for Proposal (RFP) to share information about their farm(s) and bid on specific produce items. MPS' 2022-2023 Farm to School RFP will be released in January 2022. For reference, a copy of last year's RFP can be found here.
To learn more about the Farm to School program and Request for Proposal (RFP), please contact Kirsten Weigle, Farm to School Coordinator.
Thanks to our partner farms, MPS students enjoy these fresh, local items in school cafeterias:
Apples Beets, red, gold, & chiogga Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Carrots, orange & tri-color Cauliflower Celeriac Celery Cucumbers Green Beans Kale Kohlrabi Melon, honeydew & watermelon Onions, red & yellow Parsnips Peppers, red & green bell Potatoes, red, yellow, & russet Radishes, red, beauty heart, & purple daikon Rhubarb Romaine Rutabaga Squash, butternut, delicata, yellow, zucchini & spaghetti Sweet Corn Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes, grape & vine ripe