How to Sell Food to the USDA Webinar Mar 20

Each year USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) buys nearly $2 billion and 2 billion pounds of frozen, processed, and fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

How to Sell Domestic Foods to the USDA Thursday, March 20,  2014 2:00 – 3:00 Eastern Time      On Thursday March 20, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will present a free interactive webinar, “How to Sell Domestic Foods to the USDA.” Each year, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) buys nearly $2 billion and 2 billion pounds of frozen, processed, and fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and eggs.  Otherwise known as “USDA Foods.”  These healthy, American grown and processed products help feed millions of school children and are also distributed to food banks, disaster areas, and wherever else they are needed. AMS proudly buys “USDA Foods” from a diverse pool of companies, both large and small.  For this webinar, we will be placing special emphasis on contracting information for small, socially disadvantaged, women-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned businesses, as well as those in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB Zones).  Note: The small business size standard for federal contractors in “USDA Foods” procurement is 500 employees or less (except for shell eggs, which is $12.5 million in annual revenue). Sara Hernandez and Dianna Price of the AMS Commodity Procurement Staff will: ·       introduce you to USDA purchasing activities and “USDA Foods,” ·       discuss the types of products USDA buys, ·       explain the solicitation and award process ·       outline the requirements for selling to USDA, and ·       give you the tools and resources you’ll need to explore doing business with the USDA. Following the formal presentation, the webinar will conclude with an interactive question and answer session.  Feel free to submit questions before the webinar to sara.hernandez@ams.usda.gov. Visit the USDA’s AMS Commodity Procurement website to see what products AMS buys. Then tune in to this webinar to learn everything you need to get started selling your products to USDA. This informative webinar is designed for growers, producers, processors and distributors of all sizes.  The webinar is free and available to anyone with Internet access.   However, registration is  required and space is limited.  Visit (https://amsfv.webex.com/amsfv/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=664780806) to register today!  We will host webinars on more AMS programs and services throughout the year.  To view previous webinars online, visit our Webinar Archive.       We’ll see you online!   REGISTER TODAY! If you have any questions about the webinars or AMS, please contact Christopher Purdy at (202) 720-3209 or christopher.purdy@ams.usda.gov.