Cincinnati Receives Global Recognition: Milan Pact Awards 2022
Nov 15, 2022
November 15, 2022
The Office of Environment and Sustainability (OES) is proud to announce Cincinnati's receipt of a special mention at the Milan Pact Awards 2022 for the Queen City's food waste reduction efforts.
The Milan Pact Awards were awarded to a variety of cities from across the globe on October 17th, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ceremony is an annual global forum led by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP). This year, the City of Cincinnati received a special mention for work in regard to food waste.
Cincinnati’s success is dependent upon important public/private partnerships. These collaborative efforts include (but are not limited to) organizations such as La Soupe, who have led the way in transporting and repurposing donated food to the food insecure, and Queen City Commons alongside others who have collected food waste and are turning it into compost. Another important key to the City’s success has been collaboration between Hamilton County R3Source and OES. The County has conducted business waste audits, created and implemented the residential Wasted Food Stops With Us campaign, and provided funding to support food waste diversion from the landfill. This City/County partnership resulted in participation in the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Food Matters Great Lakes Cohort, as well as the implementation of Health Inspector training sessions, Save the Food Campaigns on Metro buses, and two City/County governmental proclamations regarding food waste.
Impact is seen through numbers—the organizations making all of this happen self-reported an estimated 13,483.19 tons of food diverted from the landfill in 2021. The City and its partners will continue their efforts moving forward, strengthening them and increasing their impact in the future.
OES Director Oliver Kroner accepting the Special Mention Award at the 8th MUFPP Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 17th, 2022
To learn more about the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, click here. For more information on food waste efforts made by the City of Cincinnati and its partners, click here.