Baltimore, winning of the MPA awards 2016 with the highest score for the “Baltimore Food Policy Initiative”, has started to spread the objectives of its good practice and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) in the United Stated.
Since winning the award, Holly Freishtat, Baltimore City Food Policy Director has served as the Chair in order to build and strengthen the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Food Policy Advisor Network. As a result, the network has achieved the following:

• Food Policy Advisor Network & Best Practice Sharing: Fifteen to twenty food policy advisors joined a monthly call to exchange best practices and resources related to specific topics from the MUFPP such as Good Food Procurement, Urban Agriculture, and Economic Development and the Food System.
• Food Policy Advisors Present at the National Planning Conference: Seven food policy advisors shared best practices on how cities are integrating food systems into city planning.
• Food Policy Advisor Convening at the USCM Annual Meeting: As Chair of the Food Policy Advisor Network, Holly Freishtat helped coordinate a two day convening of food policy advisors at the USCM Annual Meeting in June 2017 in Miami. Twelve food policy advisors participated in the convening. Nine cities attended in person and three cities were able to conference call in for the meeting.
• USCM Food Policy Advisors adopted the MUFPP as framework: The USCM Food Policy Advisor Network did not have a formal guiding document, so one of the objectives of the MUFPP award was to have the USCM Food Policy Advisor Network.

• New Cities signing the Pact: In November 2016, Holly Freishtat presented to the Food Policy Advisor Network on its monthly calls about the MUFPP and to encourage the policy advisors to make the case to their mayors why it is worthwhile for them to sign the pact. As a result, the mayors of West Sacramento, Austin and Pittsburg signed the pact on the recommendations of their food policy advisors. The mayors of DC, Madison, New Haven, Philadelphia, Seattle and Minneapolis are considering signing the pact.

Baltimore will continue to transfer its knowledge about the implementation of a food strategy according to the MUFPP framework for action.
A full report of the activities will be published.