Urban Food Actions Platform

Food systems should ensure that enough nutritious food is available for everyone, whether they live in urban or rural areas, and they are poor households. The challenge is to do so while minimizing any harmful impact on the environment. 

This thematic area focuses on efficient and resilient food supply and distribution systems. For instance strengthening the rural-urban food supply chain in order to face and adapt to disruptive events; developing sustainable food transportation and logistics planning in order to reduce carbon emissions by improving alternative fuels or means of transport and thus improve connections with peri-urban and rural nearby areas; strengthening or developing energy efficient municipal public markets including farmers markets, retail and wholesale markets; creating an enabling environment for the informal food system sector and their stakeholders.

Related Resources

Food supply and distribution - Policy Briefs
On average, households in sub-Saharan Africa spend 44% of their total budget on food. Consequently, the effects on the supply chain of the lockdown measures taken in response to the COVID-19 epidemic, have had a direct impact on these communities, particularly in West African towns and cities.
(Africa)
2020 - Chloé PINTY, Nicole MADARIAGA, Alix FRANCOISE
Food supply and distribution - Reports & Case Studies
ONLY IN FRENCH The food supply of cities in Africa is changing under the triple effect of population growth, urbanization and changes in agricultural production and trade. These changes create risks: cities in Africa are increasingly facing the challenges of undernutrition and malnutrition. But they also create new opportunities: the food...
(Africa)
2020 - Gaëlle BALINEAU, Nicole MADARIAGA, Arthur BAUER, Martin KESSLER
Governance and planning, Social and economic equity, Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Reports & Case Studies
This survey, conducted by France Urbaine, in partnership with Résolis and Terres en Villes, presents how French cities have acted to mitigate the negative effects of confinement on food systems: means and levers to ensure that everyone has access to food in sufficient quality and quantity.
France (Europe)
2020 - Kader Makhlouf ; Henri Rouillé d'Orfeuil ; Marc Nielsen
Governance and planning, Social and economic equity, Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Guidelines
This long article presents numerous measures implemented by C40 network cities facing pandemic impacts on the food system: (1) Ensuring food access and feeding vulnerable citizens. (2) Enhancing cities’ food supply chains to meet today’s needs and build better food systems.
(Global coverage)
2020 - C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
Social and economic equity, Food production and ecosystem management, Food supply and distribution - Articles
These webpages from the Michigan State University is dedicated to evidence-based knowledge, critical thinking, and news on Covid-19 impacts on Food Systems from developing countries, more specifically from African countries and Nigeria.
(Africa)
2020 - Coll.