The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Food and Nutrition Division is working to increase the amount of Texas-produced food served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. TDA recently entered into a cooperative agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to procure Texas products that will be provided to Texas schools at no cost during the 2023-2024 school year. Purchasing will focus on socially disadvantaged producers and small businesses. The grant award is for $22.3 million.
TDA plans to release a competitive solicitation in early 2023 for the procurement and delivery of Texas products to schools across the state. The selected vendor(s) will be responsible for expanding their purchasing from and developing new relationships with socially disadvantaged producers and small businesses in Texas.
If you are a socially disadvantaged producer or small business in Texas and would like to share your contact information with TDA so that it can be shared with vendors that bid on this project, please complete the following form: Contact information for socially disadvantaged producers and small business owners.