How Health-e Pro Makes Buy American Compliance Easy

If you’ve ever had to track down Buy American documentation, you know it can take days, weeks, or even months, depending on how many products your program uses. It’s time-consuming and can feel like it never ends.

That’s why Health-e Pro did the hard work for you. As the largest curated K-12 product database for Buy American documentation, we’ve already collected what you need for thousands of ingredients.

Our database also includes spec sheets, Product Formulation Statements, Child Nutrition Labels, and more, all organized in our Vendor Marketplace. Your team can save hours of back-and-forth with vendors and feel confident knowing all your documentation is in one place. Once you’re in the software, finding what you need couldn’t be easier.

How to Filter Buy American Documentation in Health-e Pro

Inside Health-e Pro, you can filter ingredients by their Buy American attributes to see which products meet the standards:

- American Made: these items meet Buy American requirements with documentation on hand.
- Buy American Exception: products that don’t meet the standard but have the proper documentation.

All of this documentation is organized right in the software, helping you stay compliant during administrative reviews. Each ingredient is connected to your recipes and menus, so it’s easy to access and all in one place.

With Health-e Pro doing the heavy lifting, Buy American compliance becomes one less thing on your to-do list.

Why Buy American Matters

Running a school nutrition program comes with a long list of rules and regulations, and Buy American is one of the big ones. But it’s more than just checking a box or meeting a USDA requirement.

When we buy domestic products, we’re supporting U.S. farmers, local agriculture, and making sure our federal funds are spent the way they are meant to be.

Understanding the Buy American Provision

The Buy American Provision makes sure School Food Authorities (SFAs) use domestic products as much as possible. SFAs must keep track of the foods they buy and whether or not they are grown or produced in the United States.

Here’s what that means:

- Unprocessed foods must be 100% domestic.
- Processed foods must contain at least 51% domestic ingredients.
- Foods from U.S. territories, such as Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands count as domestic.

There are a few exceptions. Sometimes a product is not made in the U.S. in large amounts, or the domestic product costs more than the non-domestic option. In those cases, non-domestic products can be purchased as long as there is documentation explaining why. That’s why good recordkeeping is so important!

Health-e Pro Makes Buy American Easier

We’re here to help your team save hours of work and stay compliant during administrative reviews. Health-e Pro has already done the hard work for you by collecting and organizing the Buy American documentation for thousands of ingredients. It’s all in one place, making compliance easier and one less thing on your to-do list.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I track Buy American compliance in Health-e Pro?
- - Use the “American Made” and “Buy American Exception” filters to find compliant products and track exceptions easily.
What if a product is an exception?
- - You must document its use and make sure exceptions stay within allowed limits (10% of total purchases this year, phased down over time).
Why doesn’t Health-e Pro have all the documentation yet?
- - Health-e Pro has reached out to all vendors and manufacturers in our Vendor Marketplace to collect Buy American documentation. Some responses are still pending but as soon as we receive new documentation, we’ll upload it immediately!
Where can I learn more about the Buy American Provision?