Austin has snagged a top honor at the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact Global Forum, securing the Governance Award for their strides in making a sustainable, resilient, and equitable local food system. This prestigious accolade celebrates cities around the globe that are leading in developing innovative urban food policies. Austin was chosen among a competitive field of more than 340 submissions spanning 173 cities across six continents.
Recognized for its impressive Austin/Travis County Food Plan, the city has been lauded for connecting government entities, community groups, and residents to address food justice, climate resilience, and economic opportunities. According to a post on the City of Austin's website, the award "belongs to the many community members, advocates, and partners who helped shape Austin’s Food Plan." It reflects the city’s dedication to creating a participatory roadmap to tackle food access inequality and climate challenges, prioritizing community input, policy alignment, and actionable steps to enhance food availability, support local agriculture, diminish food waste, and stimulate economic growth.
The Milan Pact Awards, initiated in 2016 by Milan and the Cariplo Foundation with backing from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, honor cities excelling in six categories, including governance, sustainable diets, and food production. Alongside Austin, other winning cities of this year’s awards are Seoul, Medellín, Jericho, Ouagadougou, and Vantaa, each celebrated for their progressive contributions in healthy and sustainable diets, social and economic equity, food production, food supply and distribution, and food waste reduction, respectively.
As a signatory of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact since 2016, Austin has played an integral role with over 300 other global cities aiming to enhance local food systems, counteract climate change, and promote public health. This network now stands as the world’s preeminent assembly of metropolises committed to urban food policy innovation. Each of the six celebrated cities will be awarded €20,000 (about $23,000 USD) to foster the expansion of their projects or to assist in bilateral learning exchanges with other Pact member cities. More detailed insights into the winning projects will be available in the forthcoming Milan Pact Awards Report ,set to be published on the Pact’s official website.
