CityFood is actively involved in global policy dialogues, advocating for more effective multi-level food governance and for more sustainable urban food systems. Key initiatives CityFood is involved in include:

ICLEI CityFood and the UN Food Systems Summit

• Sixteen Urban Food Systems Dialogues: on the road to the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, ICLEI organized a series of Urban Food Systems Dialogues bringing together more than 26 local governments and about 1000 stakeholders.
• Urban Food Systems (UFS) Coalition: ICLEI, as part of the secretariat of the Urban Food Systems Coalition (along with the two co-leads FAO and GAIN) played a major role in shaping its strategy and action plan while engaging coalition members, developing the coalition website, and leading advocacy efforts at COP27. Additionally, ICLEI supported the expansion and identification of opportunities for circular development for cities in Latin America.

• Global School Meals Coalition: asone of the 28 coalitions emerging from the UNFSS (see full list here), the School Meals Coalition aims to support governments and their partners to improve the quality of school meals and strengthen school meal systems globally, in a manner which is tailored to local contexts and which promotes the sharing of international best practices. ICLEI is part of the Stakeholder Group of the School Meals Coalition.

ICLEI CityFood and the One Planet Network

• One Planet Network  Interest Group on Sustainable Food Procurement: co-led by ICLEI and  FAO, the One Planet Network Interest Group on Sustainable Food Procurement  aims to support the development and implementation of sustainable public food procurement policies that promote sustainable food systems. The Interest Group notably provides knowledge & dissemination activities and capacity & network building, and advocates for mainstreaming sustainable food procurement at local, national and international level.
• Community of Practice of the One Planet Network Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme: facilitated by UNEP, this collaboration platform connects various institutions striving to build sustainable food systems at city and country levels. Operating in the framework of the One Planet Network Sustainable Food Systems Programme, the platform gathers UN agencies, city networks, civil society organizations, governments, and research institutes. ICLEI is an active member of the Community of Practice. 

ICLEI CityFood and UNFCCC COPs

• Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency: ICLEI is the official focal point of the LGMA Constituency and facilitator of the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative of the Egyptian COP27 Presidency, which aims to enhance and accelerate local and urban climate action through multi-level governance, engagement, and delivery. SURGe notably includes a Working Group on Urban Waste and Consumption, where food plays an important role. 
• Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration: launched at COP26, the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration brings together local and regional authorities throughout the world committing to putting into practice integrated food policies to tackle the climate emergency. ICLEI has been involved in the development, launch and follow-up processes of the Glasgow Declaration
• Barcelona Challenge for Good Food and Climate (BCN Challenge): the BCN Challenge is a call for cities and their residents to engage in a series of commitments related to the transformation of their food systems in order to tackle the climate emergency. ICLEI is an official partner of the BCN Challenge.

ICLEI’s advocacy efforts also build on and complement its extensive project work throughout the world. For more information about ICLEI’s projects and activities, please click here.