Part of the Food Policy Councils in Action spotlight series
Name: Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Year it started: 2015
Mission: The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) is an international agreement among cities from all over the world committed “to develop sustainable food systems that are inclusive, resilient, safe and diverse, that provide healthy and affordable food to all people in a human rights-based framework, that minimize waste and conserve biodiversity while adapting to and mitigating impacts of climate change.”
Members: Since its launch in 2015, the MUFPP has engaged more than 240 signatory cities across 74 countries.
What they do: The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact is an international agreement among Mayors whose goal is to develop more sustainable urban food systems by fostering cooperation and the exchange of best practices among participating cities. Signatory cities publicly commit to promoting fairer and more environmentally sustainable food systems within their jurisdictions and are guided by the MUFPP framework detailed below.
How they do it: The MUFPP framework lists 37 recommended actions across the following six categories. For each recommended action there are specific indicators to monitor progress.
- The Governance Category facilitates collaboration across city agencies and departments, strengthens urban-stakeholder participation, identifies, maps, and supports local and grassroots initiatives, develops or revises urban food policies and plans, and develops disaster risk-reduction strategies.
- The Sustainable Diets and Nutrition Category addresses non-communicable diseases associated with poor diets, develops sustainable dietary guidelines for the urban environment, explores regulatory and voluntary policies to promote sustainable diets in cities and public facilities, and is committed to achieving universal access to safe drinking water in urban and peri-urban areas.
- The Social and Economic Equity Category uses social protection systems such as cash and food transfers, food banks, community food kitchens, emergency food pantries to provide access to healthy food for all citizens, to encourage and support social and solidarity activities, to promote networks and support grassroots activities, and to promote participatory education, training, and research.
- The Food Production Category promotes and strengthens urban and peri-urban sustainable food production, applies an ecosystem approach to guide holistic and integrated land-use planning and management, enables secure access to land for sustainable food production, provides services to food producers in and around cities, supports short food chains, and improves waste and water management in agriculture.
- The Food Supply and Distribution Category reviews food control systems, strengthens transport and logistics between urban and rural areas, develops green public procurement and trade policy to facilitate short food supply chains, and provides support for municipal public markets.
- The Food Waste Category is intended to manage and reduce food waste in a more sustainable way by adopting a circular economy approach.
Interesting fact about how they are working to positively affect the food system: The Milan Pact Awards were launched in 2016 to highlight and recognize the creative ways in which signatory cities were implementing the commitments they made when they signed the pact. The purpose of the awards is to recognize innovation and facilitate best-practice exchange among signatory cities. Since their initiation, the awards have gathered a total of 370 practices from MUFPP signatory cities across the globe. In 2020, a special edition of the awards called the Milan Pact Talks, was created to highlight COVID-19 food-system responses and share knowledge about the measures taken to mitigate food system challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
FACT SHEET:
Website: https://www.milanurbanfoodpolicypact.org/
Governance: The MUFPP is governed by a Steering Committee that is elected by the assembly of signatory cities every two years. The Steering Committee provides strategic oversight to ensure that the MUFPP mission and mandate are driven by and responsive to the needs of its members.
Areas served: The MUFPP has been signed by 240 cities across 74 countries.
Contact: mufpp.secretariat@comune.milano.it
Social Media: Follow the Milan Food Policy Pact on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube for updates on current work and emerging priorities.
Learn More:
- 10 Projects Increasing the Resilience of Urban Food Systems (Food Tank)
- Food Trails Project: Enhancing Cities’ Role for Sustainable Food Systems (Slow Food, July 22, 2022)
- The Red Room Commits The City To Adopt Food Policies (Cittagora, July 18th, 2022)
- Rio’s Urban Gardens Produce Healthy Food For The Poor (Phys, May 21, 2022)
- Global and Local Agendas: The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and Innovative Sustainable Food Policies in Euro-Latin American Cities (LAND, January 28th, 2022)
- Milan Urban Food Policy Pact: Sustainable Food System Spring From Cities (Global Alliance for Future Food, May 20th, 2021)
- USDA Roundtable Highlighted Food Waste Reduction Success Stories (USDA, October 28th, 2021)
- Wellington First In New Zealand To Join International Food Pact (Wellington City Council, October 15th, 2021)
- Cultivating Urban Farmers – Madagascar’s Capital Has An App For That (Cities Today, October 18th, 2021)
- New Port Richey Joins Global Food Sustainability Initiative (Suncoast News, July 22, 2020)
- Adding a Gender Lens to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Monitoring Framework (Urban Agriculture Magazine, July 2020)
- Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Awards – Beyond 200 Signatory Cities (One Planet Network, May 21, 2019)
- Mayors Meet to Collaborate on Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (Food Tank, 2017)
- Cities Call On Un For Greater Food Policy Recognition (Cities Today, October 21st, 2017)
- The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact: The Potential Of Food And The Key Role Of Cities In Localizing SDGS (Journal of Universities and International Development Cooperation, 2017)
