(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Mayor Bowser and Madison, Wisconsin Mayor Paul Soglin, Co-Chairs of the USCM Food Policy Task Force, announced that the District and other American cities will sign on to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), a cooperative international agreement aimed at improving access to healthy food and sustainability in cities all over the world. Together, with mayors from across the nation, Mayor Bowser signed on to the Pact to build a more sustainable and equitable food system, shaping future patterns of food production and consumption in the District and America.
“DC is well on its way to becoming the sustainability capital of the world,” said Mayor Bowser. “With a framework for providing a sustainable food system that grants healthy and accessible food across all eight wards, our commitment to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact is a great example of how we are building a greener, healthier, and more sustainable DC.”
Commitment to MUFPP entails developing a sustainable food system that is inclusive, resilient, safe and diverse, provides healthy and affordable food to all people in a human rights-based framework, minimizes waste, and conserves biodiversity while adapting to and mitigating impacts of climate change.
Signing on to MUFPP will further Mayor Bowser’s Sustainable DC plan which is guiding the District to be the healthiest, greenest, most livable city in the nation in just one generation. Commitment to the pact will also support the mission of the DC Food Policy Council, a council launched by Mayor Bowser in 2015 which focuses on food access, equity, and the food economy in the District.
In her fiscal year 2018 budget, the Mayor invested $1 million in the Joyful Food Markets, a community event program that makes investments to support access to healthy food in food insecure areas of Washington, DC. In October 2017, the Mayor announced the awardees for the Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, which provided $3 million in grant funding that will support the creation of new grocery options in Wards 7 and 8.
In 2017, Mayor Bowser also launched DC Government’s first citywide Food Waste Drop-Off program. Through this new free service, residents will be able to drop off food waste at designated farmers markets, one in each ward, on Saturdays. The food waste will then go to a local composting facility where it will be turned into compost, a nutrient rich soil fertilizer.
More information: https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-commits-dc-international-food-and-sustainability-pact