On Wednesday, August 14, legislation to implement the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) was introduced in the New York City Council. This food-procurement tool, which the ASPCA actively supports in cities across the country as part of our broader Shop With Your Heart program, helps school systems, municipalities and other public entities source food that supports five value criteria: animal welfare, nutrition, local economies, worker justice and environmental sustainability.

GFPP’s animal welfare component—which the ASPCA helped craft—requires participating institutions to source a percentage of meat, milk and eggs from higher-welfare farms and/or reduce their overall consumption of animal products. New York City’s adoption of GFPP would be a huge win for the program and for animals; the City’s institutions feed a staggering number of people, including providing for 1.1 million public school students who consume nearly 240 million meals per year.

As a national partner to the GFPP, the ASPCA supports the New York City effort and is actively working alongside health, environmental, local food and fair labor advocates around the country to help public institutions source higher-welfare and more sustainable food through the program. To date, 11 cities and public school systems, including Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C., have adopted GFPP.

With strong roots in “the city that never sleeps,” we look forward to working with the City Council to proudly welcome New York City to the ever-increasing list of localities adopting GFPP, thereby helping people, animals and the environment.

Join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to learn how you can get involved in promoting programs like the Good Food Purchasing Program in your city!

Source: Read Full Article