PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Tell the USDA: We Want Local Food!
  1. Signatures
    204 out of 500
  2. Created By
    D W
    Columbus, OH
About this Petition Pledge

"In the same way that federal procurement is often used to advance important social goals (like promoting minority-owned businesses), we should require that some minimum percentage of government food purchases — whether for school-lunch programs, military bases or federal prisons — go to producers located within 100 miles of institutions buying the food. We should create incentives for hospitals and universities receiving federal funds to buy fresh local produce. To channel even a small portion of institutional food purchasing to local food would vastly expand regional agriculture and improve the diet of the millions of people these institutions feed."
Michael Pollan ("Farmer in Chief," Times Magazine)

We must tell the USDA that we want local food in our schools, in our hospitals, in our prisons, and on our military bases. After all, we support these institutions with our taxes, so we should have a say in their policies and procedures. If the USDA made these requirements, or at least made incentives available, for public institutions to provide food within 100 miles of their locations, this would support our struggling farmers, improve our diets, and help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

We must begin encouraging a decentralized food system, which is one of the main tenets of the sustainable food movement, for the sake of our economy, our health, and our national security. We now know too well the problems that arise when one facility or one corporation is responsible for feeding millions. Let the USDA know that we cannot afford to continue with this shamefully centralized food system. Tell the USDA to provide incentives for public institutions to buy local, sustainable food.

Send them an e-mail, a letter, or make a phone call.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Tell the USDA: We Want Local Food!

I pledge to...

"In the same way that federal procurement is often used to advance important social goals (like promoting minority-owned businesses), we should require that some minimum percentage of government food purchases &mdash; whether for school-lunch programs, military bases or federal prisons &mdash; go to producers located within 100 miles of institutions buying the food. We should create incentives for hospitals and universities receiving federal funds to buy fresh local produce. To channel even a small portion of institutional food purchasing to local food would vastly expand regional agriculture and improve the diet of the millions of people these institutions feed."<br />Michael Pollan ("Farmer in Chief," Times Magazine)<br /><br />We must tell the USDA that we want local food in our schools, in our hospitals, in our prisons, and on our military bases. After all, we support these institutions with our taxes, so we should have a say in their policies and procedures. If the USDA made these requirements, or at least made incentives available, for public institutions to provide food within 100 miles of their locations, this would support our struggling farmers, improve our diets, and help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.<br /><br />We must begin encouraging a decentralized food system, which is one of the main tenets of the sustainable food movement, for the sake of our economy, our health, and our national security. We now know too well the problems that arise when one facility or one corporation is responsible for feeding millions. Let the USDA know that we cannot afford to continue with this shamefully centralized food system. Tell the USDA to provide incentives for public institutions to buy local, sustainable food.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navtype=MA&amp;navid=CONTACT_US">Send them an e-mail, a letter, or make a phone call.</a>

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