On April 23, 2024, USDA published final regulations addressing multiple changes for federally funded school nutrition programs. Among other things, this final rule codifies, without changes, USDA’s proposal to expand the geographic preference option by allowing child nutrition program operators to use “locally grown”, “locally raised”, or “locally caught” as procurement specifications (a written description of the product or service that the vendor must meet to be considered responsive and responsible) for unprocessed or minimally processed food items in the child nutrition programs. This article describes the systemic benefits, consistent with USDA Policy: