Food for Public Good Collaborative

Local leaders working together to advance values-based food procurement

Join the Collaborative

What is Values-Based Food Procurement?

When governments buy food, they make choices about suppliers, sourcing, and standards. Values-based food procurement policies can direct spending toward locally grown food, support small businesses, reduce environmental impact, and improve nutrition in the programs they run. The purchasing scale of local government makes this a meaningful lever for change.

About the Collaborative

The Food for Public Good Collaborative is a peer community for city and county staff who influence government food purchasing. Members work across departments and programs—including hospitals, correctional facilities, senior care, schools, and social services—and share a common interest in using procurement as a strategic lever to improve outcomes for residents.

The Collaborative was incubated at the Food Systems Action Lab at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech and is now facilitated by Partners for Public Good (PPG), building on PPG’s broader work strengthening public procurement as a tool for effective and responsive government.

Members exchange strategies for moving past challenges, and learn from each other’s experiences through structured peer learning. Membership is free.

What does the Collaborative help governments achieve?

Local governments feed millions of residents each day—in schools, correctional facilities, hospitals, senior centers, and beyond. The Food for Public Good Collaborative helps city and county staff use that purchasing power to advance public health, local economies, and environmental sustainability.

Member Resources

Members have access to a dedicated resource hub, including a self-assessment tool, member profiles, procurement templates, and a shared resource library.

Members are provided with an access code to view these resources.

Access Member Resources

Member Spotlight

"I appreciate the Collaborative's laser focus on how to support municipal staff. I feel like when the time is right, I can bring whatever questions or requests for discussion to the group."

Jason Shon

Food Security and Sustainability Program Manager, City & County of Honolulu, HI

Interested in Becoming a Member?

If you work in city or county government and are involved in food purchasing decisions or are implementing values-based purchasing, we’d like to hear from you. Please reach out to explore whether the Collaborative might be a fit.

PPG's Work on School Food Procurement

Affiliated with a School District?

This Collaborative focuses on supporting the efforts of city and county governments, and does not directly engage school districts. However, Partners for Public Good also works with the Urban School Food Alliance to pilot methods to make food procurement easier for school districts and vendors alike. Our work includes testing innovative procurement approaches with five school districts. Results and resources will be shared here as the work progresses.