Food

Green purchasing guidance for food, including:

Eggs
Meat
Poultry
Produce
Proteins
Seafood
Vegetables
Etc.

Required specifications

Purchasers must include these specifications, unless not possible:

DES-090-09: Purchases of Washington Grown Food and RCW 39.26.090(9)(a-b)
- “All food contracts must include a Plan for acquiring Washington Grown Food.”
- State agencies should require food service providers to include a “Plan for acquiring Washington Grown Food” offer non-cost points to food vendors and service providers that can provide the most food products that are Washington Grown. RCW 70A.350: the Pollution Prevention for Healthy People and Puget Sound Act directs Ecology to cyclically identify priority chemicals, priority products and then implement restrictions or reporting through rulemaking or take no action. At this point in time, bisphenols in the linings of food and beverage cans have been identified as a priority chemical-product combination but regulations have not been finalized.
EO 20-01: State Efficiency and Environmental Performance (SEEP)
- “When making purchasing, construction, leasing, and other decisions that affect state government’s emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) or other toxic substances, agencies shall explicitly consider the benefits and costs (including the social costs of carbon) of available options to avoid those emissions. Where cost-effective and workable solutions are available that will reduce or eliminate emissions, decision makers shall select the lower-emissions options.” It further states that “reducing…the use of dangerous toxics in the products state agencies purchase will all have a direct positive effect on human health, particularly for vulnerable children.”
- All state-owned or operated food service operations must offer vegetarian entrees, which generate fewer GHG emissions during production than meat and other non-vegetarian entrees. State agencies should offer non-cost points to food service providers that propose implementing climate-friendly food service strategies such as “Meatless Mondays” and food waste reduction initiatives. Food service providers must follow current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. State agencies should look for opportunities to include vegetarian proteins on their food commodity contracts. For more information on climate-friendly food, see The Meat of the Matter: A Municipal Guide to Climate-Friendly Food Purchasing.
DES-090-09 and RCW 39.26.090 9(a-b)
- “All food contracts must include a Plan for acquiring Washington Grown Food.”
- State agencies should require food service providers to include a Plan for acquiring Washington Grown Food” offer non-cost points to food commodity vendors and service providers that can provide the most food products that are Washington Grown.

Preferred specifications

Purchasers should include these specifications, unless not possible:

Third-party certifications:
- CCOF, Oregon Tilth, or USDA Organic.
- Certified Humane.
- Fair Trade (various certifiers).
- Food Alliance.
- Salmon Safe or Sustainable Seafood.
- Other certifications approved by the state.
For more information, see Healthcare Without Harm’s Healthy Food in Health Care.

Laws, rules, and executive orders

These laws, rules, and executive orders must be included in the contract language:

Find these products on statewide contracts

Find products that meet Washington’s green purchasing specifications:

Contract 04518: Bulk Food: Frozen, Chilled, Canned, Refrigerated, and Dry Goods
Contract 02016: Fresh Dairy
Contract 02619: Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

End of life

Surplus goods that still can be used

Use surplus disposal to get rid of items you no longer need. Keep materials out of landfills and make funds for your agency.

Recycling and disposal

Hazardous waste disposal guidelines and options:

Department of Ecology: Dispose, recycle, or treat dangerous waste
Washington Recycles