Terms and Concepts

Food Budget

This is the total amount of funding available for NM Grown local food purchasing in a given year for a specific buyer. This is required information that must be entered by the Administering Agency for each buyer.

Budget Period

A defined period of time; for purposes of the portal, this is the state fiscal year.

Administering Agency

The state or non-profit institution through which funding for NM Grown local food purchasing flows. This includes PED, ECECD, ALTSD, and TFD/NMDA. 

Buyer

The individual entity making a purchase of products from an Approved Supplier. Buyer information is entered or updated in the Portal by the relevant Administrative Agency (for example: PED enters the buyer information for a new participating school district). Buyers that are already in the system should never be deleted and should be kept in “Activated” status.  

Supplier

The entity that sells products to a buyer. A supplier must be on the Approved Supplier List. The NMFMA is responsible for updating all Supplier information in the Portal.

Purchases

The area in the Portal where data is entered by Administering Agencies for the Buyers they work with.  

Product Type

The broader grouping that specific food products fit within; product types include: Fruit, Vegetable, Legume, Nuts, Meat, Grain, Eggs, Mixed (for products containing meat and non-meat items, such as a burrito or stew), and Transportation 

Product

Food items that are purchased from suppliers. The NMFMA is responsible for adding all Products into the Portal.

Product Category

Food products categorized into Meat, Non-meat, Mixed, or Services

Unit Type

All products must have a unit entered. Possible unit types in the Portal include Bag, Box, Cup, Kilogram, Ounce, Pound, Item, and Flat Rate (Flat Rate is only used for Transportation). However, using weight measures (Kilograms, Ounces, or Pounds) is encouraged whenever possible so that we have data in consistent units. 

Protein Rich

Identifies each individual product as Protein-rich or not. Protein rich products include all meat, bean, and nut products.  

Region

A section of the state of New Mexico where a Buyer is located and a Supplier is located. The regions in the Portal are based on the state School Nutrition Association designations. As a result, the region information is only relevant for school buyers. This field is not required for other buyers to fill out. 

Transportation 

Transportation is listed as a food product as it can be a flat rate included in a purchase invoice; in such cases, it needs to be entered in on its own. In these cases, the product and product type are both transportation, and the category is services. 

Distribution

This is a field when entering purchasing data that is encouraged but not required and refers to the county in which the food will be distributed. 

Reference Number

This is another field when entering purchasing data that is not required and primarily meant for entering an invoice number. 

Notes

Another purchasing field that is not required and can be used for providing any notes of interest from the purchase.

Growing method

This is a required field to fill out for a purchase of any non-meat product; the dropdown options include: (1) Organic or pesticide free; or (2) Conventional. If the purchasing invoice states “Organic” or “pesticide free” then that selection should be made; otherwise the default selection should be Conventional.  

Processing

This is another required field to fill out for a purchase of any non-meat product, with dropdown options for: (1) Unprocessed; (2) Minimally Processed; and (3) Processed. 

Unprocessed Food

Food that is in a fresh, whole, or raw state.

Minimally Processed Food

Product has undergone activities that do not change the character or nutritional value. Examples include sliced, diced, chopped, shredded, dried, freeze-dried, ground, frozen. (USDA AMS Definition)

Processed Food

Product has undergone specific processing resulting in a change in the character, or that has been combined with at least one other food component. Examples include cooking, curing, smoking, and restructuring (USDA AMS Definition)

Feed

This is a required field to fill out for a purchase of any meat product; the dropdown options include: (1) Organic or Grass-fed; or (2) Conventional. If the purchasing invoice states “Organic” or “Grass-fed” then that selection should be made; otherwise the default selection should be Conventional. 

Ingredients

This is a required field to fill out for a purchase of any mixed product; the dropdown options are: (1) Includes organic products; or (2) Only conventional products

Fresh/Frozen/Shelf- Stable

This is a required field for purchase of any meat or mixed product; the dropdown options include: (1) Fresh; (2); Frozen; (3) Shelf-stable