Director of Food Purchasing Initiative

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1 Dec 2025

Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) was founded in 2002 as a coalition, became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2011, and added full-time staff in 2017. CFPAC supports, facilitates, and participates in several active networks by providing coordination, communication, funding, policy development, and advocacy support around food justice and sovereignty. CFPAC serves as the coordinator for the Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI), which is a coalition that works with community institutions to purchase and serve food that invests in an equitable, sustainable, and healthy food system for all.

GFPI formed as a result of the City of Chicago and Cook County Governments adopting the Good Food Purchasing Program by policy resolution in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Our Mission & Vision

CFPAC co-develops, facilitates, advocates for, and helps implement policies that advance food justice & sovereignty for Chicago and across the region. We envision a food system where residents of all races, genders, and social identities have the right to produce and access food through community-driven, ecologically regenerative, and economically resilient processes. To that end, we specifically focus on dismantling structural racism in the food system and lifting up food policies that support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

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The Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative works to ensure our community institutions purchase and serve food advancing a good food system for all: one that is racially just, fair, humane, culturally affirming, healthy, and environmentally sustainable. We envision a world where our community institutions contribute to a more liberatory and resilient foodshed led by those who have been structurally excluded from power and control over food production and access.

Position Overview

The Good Food Purchasing Initiative Director stewards the Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI) toward achieving its goal of creating an institutional food procurement system that is more equitable, healthy, and sustainable – where access to good food is a right, not a privilege. The Director is a strategic and adaptive leader bringing the ability to activate multiple stakeholders in a Coalition membership model that will work collectively to achieve that vision.

This person is an experienced and highly emotionally intelligent people leader who can develop and execute complex concurrent plans, projects, and working groups. The Director is a strong relationship manager, nurturing external and internal partners toward achieving the mission and vision of GFPI reflective of CFPAC’s culture and values.

Background on GFPP in Chicago

The City of Chicago (alongside its sister agencies, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Park District) adopted the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) by policy resolution in 2017, and Cook County’s Board of Commissioners adopted the same policy in 2018. The two jurisdictions have since been working toward shifting their public food procurement to be more racially equitable, transparent, and accountable through five Good Food Standards:
Local Economies, Environmental Sustainability, Valued Workforce, Animal Welfare, and Nutrition. Cities, counties, and other institutions all across the country are working on GFPP adoption and implementation with leadership from the Center for Good Food Purchasing and advocacy partners at the Food Chain Workers Alliance and HEAL Food Alliance.

The Center for Good Food Purchasing supports institutions in making shifts toward the Good Food Standards by analyzing their food purchasing data and helping the institution understand its current buying practices. The institution then collaborates with the Center and local Partners (like CFPAC) to develop a Good Food Action Plan that guides their purchasing shifts forward. This includes activities such as revising menu items, changing language in solicitations for food service and supplies, and identifying more GFPP-aligned…