Executive Order 8

February 10, 2022

Commitment to Health and Nutrition: Food Standards and Good Food Purchasing

Download Executive Order 8

WHEREAS, the City is committed to procuring, preparing, and serving healthy and nutritious food, and promoting transparency relating to such vital services; and

WHEREAS, the City is further committed to promoting food justice; to empowering New Yorkers with information about, and access to, healthy and nutritious food; and to reducing health inequities shaped by historically racist and discriminatory policies and practices across the nation that have led to inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities for health and contributed to unfair differences in diet-related disease outcomes among the New York City population; and

WHEREAS, the City serves its most marginalized populations through its public schools, hospitals, older adult centers, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and other programs; and

WHEREAS, the City has been at the forefront of a number of progressive food policy initiatives, for example, developing Food Forward NYC, a 10-year strategic food policy plan; expanding the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program; launching universal free school meals; and implementing the Emergency Food Assistance Program, all of which provide food and nutrition education in City schools, day care programs, after-school programs, and other settings throughout the city; and

WHEREAS, the City seeks to achieve sustainability goals in its food programs, with a target of reducing the associated greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030, and to carbon neutrality by 2050; and

WHEREAS, City Charter section 20-i establishes an Office of Food Policy, which provides recommendations to the Mayor and City agencies regarding food policy, coordinates multi-agency initiatives relating to food policy, performs outreach to stakeholders to advance the City’s food policy, and supports initiatives designed to promote access to healthy food, focusing in particular on communities that have historically had inequitable access to healthy foods due to class oppression, racism, and environmental injustice;

NOW, THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as Mayor of the City of New York, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Definition.  For the purpose of this order, the term “mayoral agency” means (i) any agency the head of which is appointed by the Mayor; (ii) any agency headed by a board, commission or other multi-member body, the majority of the membership of which is appointed by the Mayor; and (iii) the Office of the Mayor.

§ 2.  Revocation. Executive Order No. 122, dated September 19, 2008, is revoked.

§ 3.  Food Standards.  The Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (“Health Department”) and the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (“MOFP”) shall revise the City Agency Food Standards (“Food Standards”) for all meals or food supplies that are purchased, prepared or served in agency programs or other relevant settings.  The revised Food Standards shall be circulated to all agency heads by April 1, 2022, and at least once every three years thereafter, following review and revision as needed, and incorporating input from other relevant agencies. Such review shall take into consideration implementation progress and ensure that the Food Standards continue to meet or exceed current dietary recommendations based upon the latest scientific evidence.  Mayoral agencies shall follow the Food Standards for meals that are purchased, prepared or served by such agencies.  Mayoral agencies shall also direct their contractors to follow the Food Standards for all meals served in City-funded programs.

§ 4.  Good Food Purchasing Program. MOFP shall establish a Good Food Purchasing Program, the goal of which shall include the study and publication of data, on an annual basis, that provides transparency about how mayoral agencies’ procurements impact core values relating to local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition affecting the health of all New Yorkers.

§ 5. Agency Cooperation. (a) All mayoral agencies shall cooperate with MOFP and the Health Department in supporting compliance with the Food Standards and establishment of the Good Food Purchasing Program. Such cooperation shall include, but not be limited to, assessing the extent to which the meals served by the agencies meet the Food Standards; providing relevant procurement and other data to MOFP; instituting and maintaining programs designed to increase access to affordable and nutritious food in communities with limited access to such items; and increasing the awareness and utilization of food assistance programs by those who qualify for them. (b) The City shall take all steps necessary, consistent with applicable law, to facilitate and promote participation by the New York City Department of Education and the Health + Hospitals Corporation in the initiatives set forth in this Order.

§ 6.  This Order shall take effect immediately.

Eric Adams
Mayor