Today’s Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Coalition meeting shed light on Cleveland’s new policy to attract and create local, sustainable business. New legislation allows the city to offer a 5% discount to local food businesses bidding for city contracts.

Since most bids are decided by 5% or less, a discount for being a certified Local Sustainable Business—a process that will be determined by the Cleveland Office of Sustainability—will offer a ‘huge’ advantage.

“This is the springboard for Mayor Jackson’s self-help economy,” said Jermaine Brooks of Cleveland’s Office of Equal Opportunity, which will monitor the bids and contracts along with its Minority and Female-owned bid incentive programs. “We will be known by purchasing locally.”

A subcategory of Local Sustainable Business is Local Food which, for the time being, does not include a ‘sustainable’ requirement (i.e. the food could be grown within 150 miles of Cleveland, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be organic or raised sustainably).

Amanda Dempsey, executive assistant to Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman -- who helped introduce the Local Food purchasing and other legislation (such as allowing residents to raise chickens and bees in the city) – promised to work with the city to phase in ‘sustainably raised’ as part of the Local Food certification.

“We’re looking at best practices, like Markham, Ontario  (the first municipality in Canada to adopt Local Food Plus) and hope to emulate them.”