North America Local Food Dialogue on Inclusive Food Systems

In 2021, the UN Food Systems Summit brought together science, business, healthcare and academic communities with farmers, Indigenous people, youth, local governments, and others to accelerate the Decade of Action for the SDGs. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) led much of this work with partners to ensure the voice of cities, towns and counties is represented.

At the same time in the U.S., the Federal Administration organized a series of dialogues, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ICLEI gathered its network to provide input both globally and domestically for how to build a better food system that promotes equity and nutrition. This North America Local Food Dialogue on Inclusive Food Systems, hosted by City of New Haven and ICLEI, stood as a local moment for official contribution from cities and counties to the proceedings. It helped collate interests, issues, and priorities of local governments — including on food sustainability, security and resilience — in order to submit the outcomes to both FAO at the global level and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the U.S.