How the Public Purse Can Drive Food Systems Change: The Role of Institutional Procurement

The ways in which large institutions, such as schools and hospitals, purchase food have a sizeable impact on the larger food ecosystem. Leveraging institutional food procurement can be a powerful means of supporting local producers and ensuring consumers access to nutritious food–potentially creating a food system that is more equitable, sustainable, and resilient.

In this webinar, Farm to Plate Program Director Jake Claro and Network Manager Sarah Danly will discuss their experiences with institutional procurement, highlighting both its benefits and its many logistical complications.

They will be joined by practitioners and policy makers from across Australia who will share state and local initiatives, and discuss how the Vermont approach might be applied in our context.

This is the third webinar in a three-part series in which Australia will have the opportunity to learn directly from the leaders of the organisation responsible for the implementation of the Vermont Farm to Plate plan—by many accounts one of the most comprehensive and long-term food and farming system programs of its kind.