Letter from the Director

What do we know about our food? 

While that should be an easy question, information about where food purchased by The City of New York comes from (beyond the vendor we purchase it from) and how it is produced has been hard to track. Because the City works with hundreds of vendors and has a complex bidding process across different agencies who purchase food, understanding where our food comes from and how it impacts us is quite a challenge! 

Mayor Adams signed Executive Order 8, which requires all vendors to report to the City on the origins of the food and meals they supply to the City. The Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP) is committed to publishing this data annually. MOFP has developed metrics for each value, that are within our existing legal frameworks. Together with the Center for Good Food Purchasing, we are able to evaluate each agency’s metrics annually.  

We are committed to helping New Yorkers understand more about their food, and to a procurement strategy that inspires new ways of thinking about our food and drives positive change across the local, regional and even global food system with the purchasing power of The City of New York.  

Progress in the implementation of GFP depends not only on the actions of the City of New York, but also on changes across the entire food system. The City’s 10 Year Food Policy Strategy, FoodForward NYC, outlines the way the City will advocate on the state and federal level and partner on the regional level to help bring along the system change necessary to increase the pipeline of good food. While we are making great progress, not every metric, every vendor or every meal will reflect what we hope to achieve over time. By assessing progress and tracking key metrics over time, we can hold ourselves to higher standards, and provide transparency about how we’re reaching for success. What follows is an overview of our performance to date; key data; and our action plans for continued progress. 

Institutional food purchasing is an enormous lever for change and a critical tool for equity. Together, we can deliver higher-quality food and make progress on climate, animal welfare, workers’ rights and supporting minority and women owned businesses. We value your partnership and feedback as we strive to feed New Yorkers and bring a dynamic new value system to The City of New York’s procurement of food and ultimately meals for our residents. 

 
Kate MacKenzie, MS RD 
Executive Director, Mayor's Office of Food Policy