At the June 8, 2020 Environmental Committee meeting, the Committee was scheduled to consider an agenda request proposing to have the City Council sign on to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (Pact). Unfortunately, a quorum was not present so the Committee could not take any formal action.
Environmental Committee Chairman Dell deChant has requested the City Manager to allow him to present this proposal to the City Council and the City Manager has requested this Department to facilitate that proposal.
The Pact has been signed by 210 cities worldwide with a population totaling more than 450 inhabitants, and the City of Miami is the only local government in Florida that has joined the Pact. The aim of the Pact is that of creating a network of cities committed at developing and implementing sustainable food systems, also through the exchange of ideas and suggestions on how to concretely address common problems.
In order to complete the procedure, a city has to provide, beside the complete name of the mayor and contact details of its offices, the name and contact details of a Focal Point, a person inside the city's administration who will follow all communication and activities related to the Pact. The City Manager has requested that Development Department Director Earl R. Hahn be the designated point of contact.
There are no fees to subscribe to the Pact.
Pact signatory cities will have the possibility to participate in the annual "MPA-Milan Pact Awards" which are a means to stimulate learning and action and whose criteria are designed to meet a wide variety of city types and scales. Milan Pact Awards consist of six special mentions and two monetary prizes.
By signing the Pact Letter of Subscription, the City Council commits to the following seven actions:
1. We will work 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;
2. We will encourage interdepartmental and cross-sector coordination at municipal and community levels, working to integrate urban food policy considerations into social, economic and environment policies, programs and initiatives, such as, inter alia, food supply and distribution, social protection, nutrition, equity, food production, education, food safety and waste reduction;
3. We will seek coherence between municipal food-related policies and programs and relevant subnational, national, regional and international policies and processes;
4. We will engage all sectors within the food system (including neighboring authorities, technical and academic organizations, civil society, small scale producers, and the private sector) in the formulation, implementation and assessment of all food-related policies, programs and initiatives;
5. We will review and amend existing urban policies, plans and regulations in order to encourage the establishment of equitable, resilient and sustainable food systems;
6. We will use the Framework for Action as a starting point for each city to address the development of their own urban food system and we will share developments with participating cities and our national governments and international agencies when appropriate;
7. We will encourage other cities to join our food policy actions.