“Healthy is usually equated to expensive, but in Quezon City we were able to discover that it’s a matter of thinking outside of the box and thinking ‘how much more can I do with my food? How much do I value what I put inside my body? How much do I appreciate its impact on the environment?’. Really it’s mindful eating, mindful purchasing and mindful preparation of the food”.
-Ma-Anne Rosales-Santo Domingo

The first episode of The Power of the Public Plate podcast is an interview with Ma-Anne Rosales-Santo Domingo and Andrea Villaroman, from Quezon City, Philippines. We talk about the inspiring example of Quezon City and its current procurement system, which is based on values such as health, community and environmental sustainability. The food that is served through the city’s public food procurement is healthy and based on creating a sense of community for citizens, and it is part of the local government’s road towards meeting its ambitious climate targets. Quezon City has a proven track-record of leadership with regards to using its purchasing power for good. As such, the city is long time member of the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement, which is coordinated by ICLEI.

Andrea Villaroman is the Head of the Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department at Quezon City Government. As such she spearheads programmes and projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as environmental sustainability and community engagement.

Ma-Anne Rosales-Sto. Domingo is a public interest lawyer in the Philippines. She is currently the project manager of ImagineLaw, a civil society organization that develops and advocates for evidence-based public health policy solutions, and she provides technical legal support to national and local government agencies.

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 Podcasts, 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