This report summarizes the major outcomes of the dialogues that were conducted by more than 26 local governments and brought together about 1000 stakeholders under the partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in contribution to the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021.

The purpose of holding the city-level food systems dialogues was to strengthen local multi-stakeholder engagement while collectively re-enforcing the position of cities as a key driver of food systems transformation.

Key messages of the city-level dialogues

Overall, the city-level dialogues revealed the urgent need expressed by cities to be recognized as key drivers of food systems transitions toward more sustainability. The dialogues reaffirmed that with the majority of the world’s consumers residing in urban areas, cities have an important role to play in food systems transformation.

While there is considerable variation in the food-related topics that were touched upon in the different dialogues, the following eight guiding themes were summarized to capture the essence of the 18 multi-stakeholder food dialogues.

1) Integrating food systems transformation in urban and territorial governance

Food systems transformation requires national and sub-national governments working together in a coherent and coordinated way. At the local level, some of the challenges which need national government support are: i) providing policy space for city to get engaged in national policy action; ii) funding, and capacity building to plan and implement food actions.

2) Integrating food systems into urban and territorial planning

Land-use plans are crucial for efficient and inclusive food environments and are therefore linked to food distribution, including retail and wholesale markets and informal and formal street food vending. Therefore, urban and territorial planning is a crucial instrument for mainstreaming food systems at the local level and to an integrated approach within the urban food system but also in its relation to local one.

3) Public procurement and school nutrition programmes

Public food procurement programmes for school meals and also for meals in other public institutions (like hospitals, childcare services, universities, military bases, prisons, government offices, senior centers, etc.) are systemic interventions. To enhance their multiple benefits, procurement should be as much as possible linked to local production to facilitate short supply chains and boost the local food economy. School food can help address food poverty, malnutrition and obesity, while promoting education and good learning outcomes.

4) Healthy and resilient food environments

Healthy food environments require promoting availability, accessibility and desirability of safe, nutritious and culturally relevant food. Efficient and accessible urban food distribution, including both the formal and informal sectors, impacts both producers and consumers. Cities are already taking action to promote healthy food environments. Efforts include revitalization of municipal and local food markets; guidelines for food sales in hospitals and workplaces; tax breaks to reduce food waste and incentivize donations; sugar and beverage taxes; zoning regulations; nutrition educational programmes and school meals programmes; guidelines for reducing food adulteration practices, and social media campaigns.

5) Food waste

Organic waste represents an average of 50 percent of all municipal solid waste. Cities are already taking action on food waste reduction, including prevention and reduction of waste at source. Cities need basic infrastructure and technical capacity to reduce food waste but also waste management infrastructure to enable separation, composting and resource recovery.

6) Financing mechanisms for sustainable urban food systems solutions

Both public and private finance, as well as blended financing mechanisms, are needed to catalyze initiatives that increase access to nutritious foods.

7) Emergency planning, response and recovery

Cities can be better prepared if they develop informed emergency food response and recovery plans to guide efforts during any disaster. These plans should ensure that crisis planning, response and recovery efforts are aligned with climate adaptation plans, resilience plans, equity and inclusion principles and policies that address longer-term food security.

8) Equity and inclusion

Equity and inclusion require deliberate action, and the recognition that the people who face the most inequities are often the voices least heard. There is an urgent need to foster diverse and inclusive leadership to meet collective intersectional challenges.