City Council Passes Good Foods Purchasing Program Ordinance

City Council Passes Good Foods Purchasing Program Ordinance

Sponsored by Councilor At-Large Michelle Wu, program aims to leverage Boston’s purchasing power to align with healthy, local, sustainable, fair and humane practices along the food supply chain

BOSTON – On Wednesday, March 20th, 2019, the Boston City Council voted to pass an Ordinance Regarding Good Food Purchasing Standards in the City of Boston, sponsored by Councilor At-Large Michelle Wu. The ordinance aligns City spending on food, including Boston Public School lunches, with key values: support for local economies, environmentally sustainable production systems, fair labor practices, humane treatment of animals, and nutrition. Under the ordinance, the Boston Public School system would be required to conduct a baseline analysis and implement a plan in partnership with a community advisory committee.

“The Boston Public School system is one of the largest daily food providers in the city, so we have a tremendous opportunity to ensure the food we’re serving to students is healthy and locally sourced, and reflects equity and justice along the entire food supply chain. I’m proud to see the City Council demonstrate national leadership in taking this next step towards aligning the food purchasing power of Boston with our values.” said Councilor Wu.

Boston is the first city in the Northeast to pass this type of ordinance, following other major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. By requiring its city departments and vendors to adopt Good Foods Purchasing standards, Boston will leverage its purchasing power to promote health and nutrition in public schools, fair working conditions for employees, and economic opportunity in our communities.

Upon completion of a baseline Good Foods Purchasing assessment of food procurement practices, Boston’s agencies and departments will be required to develop and adopt multiyear action plans with baseline measures for success towards Good Food Purchasing Standards. Agencies will be required to incorporate the standards into new procurement contracts, and to provide reports to the City Council.