Washington, D.C – At the 86th winter meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, Madison joined over 160 cities from around the world in signing the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and affirming the strategic role cities must play in developing more just, sustainable, and healthy food systems. Building on the passage of a November 2017 City of Madison resolution, Mayor Soglin, along with Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, making Madison and Washington the two newest signatories of the Pact. Additionally, Mayor Soglin and Mayor Bowser, Co-Chairs of the US Conference of Mayors Food Policy Task Force, authorized the use of the Pact as the guiding policy framework for the Task Force.

Mayor Soglin praised the addition of Madison to the ranks of other Milan Urban Food Policy Pact signatories and the use of the Pact in the work of the Food Policy Task Force. "Adopting the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact provides a guiding framework for the US Conference of Mayors Food Policy Task Force to implement policy and programmatic strategies on a range of food systems issues. It also allows the municipalities participating in this Task Force, like Madison, to coordinate efforts with one another in a unified fashion, creating a roadmap to achieve common goals and establish metrics of success."

The City of Madison is already in a solid position to foster and bolster the actions outlined within the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact’s "Framework for Action". Current city committees, projects, and programs -- such as the Madison Food Policy Council, SEED Grants, Madison Public Market, and Healthy Retail Access Program – provide a foundation to advance the actions housed under various "Thematic Clusters" of the Pact.

Food Policy Coordinator George Reistad asserts, "Madison has an active food policy council, a designated position tasked with advancing community food system policies housed within the Mayor’s Office, and many city-supported initiatives and partnerships thriving within the City. For a city our size, we are doing outsized work in this field."

The signing of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact is another demonstration of the commitment that the City of Madison has to food systems. Mayor Soglin stated that he has "a deep commitment to building a better food system and my administration will continue to prioritize and galvanize community food efforts within the City whenever possible, with the ultimate goal of creating a local and regional food system that is just, healthy, economically-viable for all of its participants, and environmentally responsible to the planet."