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26 October 2021

Minneapolis and the GFPP: Sustainable food is a choice

“It requires collective action. So how do we bring together, build momentum, [..] prove points in cities and institutions around what’s possible? How do we learn from each other? And then how to leverage all of that leadership and creativity to transform policies, supply chains, et cetera?”
-Alexa Delwiche, Center for Good Food Purchasing

Episode 5 of The Power of the Public Plate podcast is the first part of an interview with Alexa Delwiche and Bertrand Weber, who gave us a powerful introduction to the American public food procurement system and to their inspiring programmes.
The interview is split into two, so make sure to listen to both part 1 and part 2.

Alexa Delwiche is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for Good Food Purchasing, which uses the power of procurement to create a transparent and equitable food system prioritizing the health and well-being of people, animals, and the environment through the nationally networked adoption and implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Program by large institution.

Bertrand Weber is the current Director for Minneapolis Public School Culinary and Wellness Services and has a long and impressive career in school feeding programmes. He is also an Advisory Board Member of the National Farm to School Network, Chair of IFMA K-12 Advisory Council, the Chef Ann Foundation Lunch Box, School Nutrition Culinary Institute Advisory Board, FoodCorps Design Team, Scratch Works, Wellness in the Schools and SNA Professional Development Committee.

In Part 1 of the interview, Alexa gives us an overview of the Good Food Purchasing Programme and its work in supporting local economies, striving towards environmental sustainability through locally and organically produced food with a low carbon footprint, giving back value to the workforce, ensuring animal welfare and offering healthy and nutritious meals. Bertrand, on the other hand, gives us an introduction to the Minneapolis food public procurement system, which tries to follow the same principles as the GFPP, its relationship to local and smallholder farmers and seasonal eating.

In Part 2 of the interview, we get a better insight into the relationships between different procurement practices, as well as between the GFPP and the Minneapolis programme. Our guests talk us through the challenges that the US federal system and the United States Department of Agriculture present to procurers, and they give fellow procurers some powerful advice on how to work in collaboration to ensure a sustainable model of public food procurement.

The Power of the Public Plate, brought to you by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and the UN One Planet Network, is a collection of interviews on how public authorities from around the world leverage procurement to positively impact the food value chain, to ultimately contribute to sustainable food systems. Each week new guests from different parts of the world join us to explore their idea of sustainable food procurement, so make sure to tune in for all the episodes!

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, Google Podcast, Apple Podcast and One Planet Network YouTube or ICLEI YouTube.

To find out more about us, visit our websites:
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
One Planet Network

Or connect with us on Twitter:
@ICLEI_procure
@10YFP

For any queries contact: Josefine Hintz - josefine.hintz@iclei.org