Building up the middle of municipal food systems
Understanding challenges for public food procurement from local and regional farmers in practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17822640 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Courtney Adamson (0009-0006-1585-0480, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, corresponding author), Rebecka Milestad (0000-0002-8626-7288, Swedish Defence Research Agency), Sara Borgström (0000-0002-6452-5696, KTH Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2168-3565 • E-ISSN: 2168-3573 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/21683565.2026.2644220 |
| OpenAlex | W7139076291 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
Public food procurement in local government bodies such as municipalities is highlighted for its potential to address interlinked food system challenges and crises. It is also seen as a policy tool for strengthening local food systems. However, many theoretical aims for public food procurement from local and regional farmers are only achieved to a limited degree in practice. This article reports findings from a case study in a northern European context, which through interviews and observations explores the diverse experiences of food practitioners working with municipal food supply on local and regional scales. The study reveals inhibiting and supporting factors affecting different practitioner groups. Specifically, farmers experience risks and uncertainties associated with production for largely industrialized and vertically integrated municipal supply systems, while municipal practitioners experience risks and uncertainties associated with securing supply from farmers given requirements on municipalities and conditions in municipal kitchens. Further, local logistics and wholesale practitioners describe the absence of bridging actors to help navigate these diverse risks and uncertainties. In light of the results, this article discusses key governance conditions for building up the “missing middle” of municipal supply systems to enable public food procurement from local and regional farmers in practice.
Food safety · Food security · Food supply · Food systems · Local government · Procurement · Agricultural Innovations and Practices · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Organic Food and Agriculture
Breaking out of the silos
Intermediate short food supply chains
Advancing the research agenda on food systems governance and transformation
Connecting the dots
What influences and inhibits reduction of deforestation in the soy supply chain? A mental model perspective
Social solidarity, social infrastructure, and community food access
Building the intrinsic infrastructure of agroecology
Public food procurement from family farming
The challenge of systemic food change
Food system transformation
Links between food trade, climate change and food security in developed countries
Balancing diversity and connectivity in multi-level governance settings for urban transformative capacity
Urban sustainability transitions in a context of multi-level governance
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |