0%
Median price difference across matched products
Research-led at UCLA
California schools pay very different prices for the same food.
MealMetrix makes procurement prices visible. We benchmark what districts pay across California so school nutrition leaders, foundations, and policy partners can spot inefficiencies, quantify savings, and act with defensible evidence.
Interactive metro-area explorers
District-level benchmarking
Research-backed methodology
Where districts use MealMetrix
Compare products, trace peer pricing, and prepare board-ready savings stories without building your own procurement analytics stack.
207
matched products in SF Bay Area explorer
38%
median differential across benchmarked products
$250k+
typical annual district savings opportunity
100+
districts analyzed across California
Open explorer pages
$0k+
Potential district savings per year
$0B+
Statewide procurement contracts analyzed
0+
School districts benchmarked across California
Tater Gems Potatoes
30% more in one district
Lucky Charms Cereal Cups
20% price gap across peers
Corn Dog Jumbo Chicken WG
13% difference from the same distributor
SF Bay Area Explorer
207 matched products live
LA Area Explorer
980 matched products, 94.4% of spending covered
Tater Gems Potatoes
30% more in one district
Lucky Charms Cereal Cups
20% price gap across peers
Corn Dog Jumbo Chicken WG
13% difference from the same distributor
SF Bay Area Explorer
207 matched products live
LA Area Explorer
980 matched products, 94.4% of spending covered
The Problem
Tater Gems Potatoes
Lucky Charms Cereal Cup
Corn Dog Jumbo Chicken WG
The same food. Dramatically different prices.
California districts buying identical products from the same distributors can pay 13-30% more than neighboring districts without knowing it. These are real examples from Los Angeles County school food procurement data.
Tater Gems Potatoes
Simplot Traditional
District paid
$41.36
Peer district
$29.06
30% more
Potential savings for this item alone: $3,400 per year.
Lucky Charms Cereal Cup
General Mills
District paid
$38.72
Peer district
$30.85
20% more
Potential savings for this item alone: $3,300 per year.
Corn Dog Jumbo Chicken WG
Don Lee Farms
District paid
$74.62
Peer district
$65.23
13% more
Same distributor, same product, different negotiated price.
Explore the Data
Price transparency, mapped across California.
Select a metro area to dive into an interactive Price Explorer, filter by food group, search by product, and see where district prices stand relative to peers across every category. We are building a statewide map of procurement price variation region by region.
Metro-area explorer entry point
Current live explorer pages focus on the Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles.
Live explorer
SF Bay Area Explorer
207 matched products and 38% median differential across
comparable items.
Live
Greater Los Angeles Explorer
980 matched products covering 94.4% of LA district spending
across the LA–Long Beach–Anaheim metro area.
Live
Sacramento Valley
Incoming
San Diego / Inland Empire
Incoming
Simple Process
From raw invoices to actionable insights.
Districts share what they already have. MealMetrix handles extraction, product matching, benchmarking, and presentation so procurement teams can focus on negotiation and action.
1
Share procurement data
Districts upload vendor price lists, invoices, or bid documents as PDFs.
2
AI product matching
Semantic matching and rule-based checks connect your items to true peer equivalents.
3
Benchmark and explore
Interactive explorer views reveal distributions, not just averages, by product and category.
4
Present and act
Use impact-ready charts and savings estimates in board meetings, vendor reviews, or grant work.
Who We Work With
Built for everyone with a stake in school nutrition.
MealMetrix serves district operators, philanthropic funders, and policy or research partners who need clear evidence on where procurement markets are working poorly.
School Districts
Understand what you pay relative to peers, prepare a case for renegotiation, and bring a data-backed impact story to your next board meeting.
Request your analysis →Foundations and Funders
School food budgets are a systemic equity issue. MealMetrix helps identify where dollars can unlock the largest gains in California school nutrition.
Explore partnership →Policy and Research Partners
Access rigorous district-level price analysis built on transparent, auditable methodology for legislation, advocacy, or academic research.
Read the methodology →
Research
Research Lead
Philanthropic Support
Rigorous methodology. Transparent data.
MealMetrix is a research initiative led by economists at UCLA studying price transparency in public food procurement. The matching algorithm and benchmarking framework are designed to produce defensible, auditable insights for public-sector decision making. Our matching pipeline covers close to 95% of district spending, giving an accurate picture of where procurement dollars are going and where savings are being left on the table.
Why the analysis is credible
AI-powered product matching
Semantic embedding plus rule-based filters match products across districts with reviewable quality signals.
Statistical benchmarking
Price differentials are calculated at the product, food-group, and district level with distribution-aware summaries.
Research-to-practice translation
Outputs are intended for real district negotiations, procurement reform, and policy design, not just technical reporting.
Affiliation and support
MealMetrix collaborates with school districts, researchers, and philanthropic organizations working to improve school food systems across California. Logos are shown for identification only.
Research Lead
Philanthropic Support
Martin Hackmann
Associate Professor of Economics
University of
California, Los Angeles
- Health economics
- Public procurement
- Market design
- Price transparency
Get in touch
Reach out directly to the research team with questions about district analysis, partnership opportunities, or research collaboration.