Number
251662
Version
ORIGINAL
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. STAMPER
Title
Resolution declaring food apartheid a public health emergency and directing coordinated city action.
Analysis
This resolution declares food apartheid a public health emergency within the City of Milwaukee and directs the Milwaukee Health Department to treat the elimination of food apartheid as a core public-health objective. Other City departments are directed to collaborate with the Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee County to address the issue, and the Milwaukee Health Department is directed to report back to the Common Council in 90 days to communicate the status of efforts intended to eliminate food apartheid in the City of Milwaukee.
Body
Whereas, On November 7, 2025, the Milwaukee County Board adopted Resolution 25-705, declaring food apartheid a public health emergency and directing collaboration with state, municipal, and community partners to identify strategies and potential interventions to address food apartheid in Milwaukee County; and
Whereas, The term “food apartheid” describes the deliberate and racialized systems that have denied Black, Latino, and low-income communities access to fresh food; it rejects the neutral framing of “food desert” and recognizes that inequitable outcomes stem from historic and ongoing policy decisions; and
Whereas, In the past year, multiple grocery stores serving low-income communities in the City of Milwaukee have closed; and
Whereas, Communities with few food retailers may be more likely to suffer from high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity; and
Whereas, The City recognizes that food apartheid is not isolated to one neighborhood but affects multiple areas, each bearing the legacy of segregation and economic neglect; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that food apartheid constitutes a public health emergency within the City of Milwaukee; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Milwaukee Health Department is directed to treat the elimination of food apartheid as a core public-health objective; and, be it
Further Resolved, That all City Departments are directed to collaborate with both the Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee County towards the elimination of food apartheid; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Milwaukee Health Department shall report back to the Common Council within 90 days to communicate the status of efforts intended to eliminate food apartheid in the City of Milwaukee.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB181173-2
Dave Gelting
January 20, 2026