FOOD CITIES 2022 Learning Platform launches

Cities and towns take up just 1% of the earth’s land surface, and yet by 2050 68% of people will live in cities and 80% of food produced will be consumed by them.

Cities are in a unique position to drive food system change at a local, regional, national and global level and their role is beginning to get the recognition it deserves.

The Food Cities 2022 Learning Platform has been designed to be an accessible directory of information for anyone working on urban food. The platform can be browsed by those looking to learn and explore issues and topics, but is also structured in such a way that those seeking resources and case studies on a specific issue or challenge can find information quickly and efficiently. It is particularly aimed towards cities in low to middle income countries and those at the beginning of their food strategy journeys.

There is a wealth of resources and information available online and it can be difficult to know where to start, and an overwhelming task to review and assimilate reports, publications and case studies. Our platform provides a point from which to navigate the complexity of topics and available resources.

On the platform you will find:

• Syntheses of key guidelines, frameworks and other key resources, such as websites
  • Each synthesis describes what the resources is about, who it is aimed at and what it’s strengths and primary take-aways are
• An explanation of various global networks and what participation entails
• A breakdown of food system areas of action, paired with relevant case studies and key resources
  • From Urban Agriculture, to to Safe and Nutritious Diets, to Equity and Inclusion and more
• The process and elements of creating a City Food Strategy
  • Featuring videos from experts and practitioners working from our webinar series
• Emergency Food Planning for different scenarios
  • Accompanying our webinar learning series, recordings and linked resources will be shared
• News and events from our work and partners
• Monthly featured content

Accompanying the platform is a newsletter that will share monthly featured content, as well as sharing the most exciting news and events from across the world of urban food systems. You can sign up to the newsletter here.

We really hope this learning platform will create a useful one stop shop for identifying the resources you need to transform your urban food system. We draw together the best resources from around the world so you can easily find what you’re looking for.  Let us have your feedback please!

Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation

Explore the platform now

The learning platform is one element of the Food Cities 2022 Learning Partnership. This is an exciting new initiative that supports cities to develop and implement city led food policies and action plans. We are building a network of core cities who are developing their food agendas, with a particular focus on low to middle income countries in the Commonwealth. Through the partnership, we will be offering responsive support and advice through a combination of events, resources, peer-to-peer learning and access to experts.

As well as the learning platform and partnership programme with core cities, we are delivering three open webinar series. The first was A Food Strategy For Your City, available as a playlist on our YouTube channel and to explore on our platform. The second is currently running and is focused on Emergency Food Planning. You can explore the series and register for webinars on the dedicated section of the platform. The final series will be developed in response to the learning needs of the cities we are working with.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the platform. Please drop us an email to Florence.pardoe@foodfoundation.org.uk or answer these five short questions.