According to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA’s AMS) and the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)—the two largest federal purchasers of food in the U.S.—attempt to source locally grown food when possible, but do not collect sufficient data to trace the origins of food purchases.
Both agencies are generally required by law to purchase domestic food, but there are no requirements that this food be locally grown, and neither the AMS nor DLA collects comprehensive data on such purchases. However, both agencies encourage vendors to source locally grown food where available.