Why This Summit?
This two-day summit, The Power of Procurement: The Power of Us, will bring together national & regional food systems leaders—including those from philanthropy, journalism, government, advocacy, business, and more—who are shaping the future of procurement strategies at local, state, and national levels.
We chose Chicago as the location for our summit for several reasons, among them the opportunity to highlight the important work being carried out locally to accelerate good food purchasing. In 2017, the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools adopted the Good Food Purchasing Program, followed by Cook County, Illinois, a year later. Cook County adopted the program with one of the strongest policy statements in the nation, including provisions to create supply chain opportunities for producers of color in the region.
To maximize the potential of procurement as a strategy for supply chain transformation, national organizations and communities across the country are increasingly aligning and networking efforts across regions and among institutions to:
1
Activate the policy process to institutionalize major food buyers’ commitments to Good Food and supply chain transparency
2
Enhance the capacity of local multisector coalitions to mobilize democratic participation in the public procurement process and ensure public food contracts reflect community values and hold vendors accountable to these values
3
Increase alignment and cross-sector collaboration in food systems transformation
4
Empower a national network of institutions with better supply chain information, leveraging their collective buying power to drive large-scale market shifts towards a food system that is healthier for people and the planet
The Center for Good Food Purchasing
The Center for Good Food Purchasing uses the power of procurement to create a transparent and equitable food system built on the principles of Equity, Accountability, and Transparency, and five core values: local and community-based economies, a valued workforce, community health and nutrition, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. We do this through the nationally-networked adoption and implementation of the Good Food Purchasing Program by major institutions.
The Center manages the Good Food Purchasing Program, which works with institutions to establish supply chain transparency from farm to fork and shift towards a values-based purchasing model. The Center also works with national partners and local grassroots coalitions in cities across the United States to build a cohesive movement in support of Good Food Purchasing. Together with these important allies, as of the spring of 2025, more than 70 institutions in more than 30 major US cities and counties have committed to the Good Food Purchasing Program. Together these institutions spend more than $1.1 billion on food each year.
At the summit Power of Procurement: The Power of Us, we invite you to expand this national conversation and explore how we can link our regional commitments toward a Good Food system that is fair, sustainable, healthy, and affordable for all.