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Evidence platform for agrifood systems and nutrition

This FAO evidence platform provides evidence and tools to support governments and stakeholders in the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSyN) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

To find relevant documents for a VGFSyN recommendation, select a focus area from the left menu and the sub-focus area of your interest. You will be redirected to a page listing all relevant VGFSyN recommendations. Select a recommendation to access the links to the relevant online documents

Focus Area III
Equal and equitable access to healthy diets through sustainable food systems

This focus area outlines some potential policy entry points to improve physical and economic access, and availability of healthy diets through sustainable food systems in the places where people shop, choose and eat food. Moreover, it provides guidance on the monitoring of new technologies and promoting trends for healthy diets through sustainable food systems.

3.3.2 Improving the availability and affordability of food that contributes to healthy diets through sustainable food systems

The four digit numbering of each recommendation follows the numbering in the VGFSyN, whereby the first digit represents the chapter 3 of the document that includes the 105 recommendations, the second digit the focus area, the third digit the sub-focus area and the letter the specific recommendation.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.a

    Governments should, where appropriate to national circumstances and consistent with international commitments and obligations, take measures, including policies and instruments, to support and promote initiatives that improve and seek to ensure the affordability and accessibility of healthy diets through sustainable food systems and to promote policies and programmes aiming at preventing or reducing overweight and obesity.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.b

    Governments, with the support of intergovernmental organizations, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, should strengthen public procurement systems by ensuring healthy diets are available, accessible, affordable and convenient in public settings and institutions, including kindergartens and other childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, foodbanks, government offices and workplaces, military bases and prisons, nursing homes, and care settings, in line with national food-based dietary guidelines, and engaging with, where available, smallholders and family farmers and vulnerable local food producers.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.c

    Governments should link the provision of healthy school meals through sustainable food systems with clear nutritional objectives, aligned with national food-based dietary guidelines and adapted to the needs of different age groups, with special attention to those most affected by hunger and malnutrition.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.d

    Governments, intergovernmental organizations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders should consider promoting home grown school meals, where food served in schools and other child care facilities is procured, where appropriate, from smallholder and/or family farmers to support local communities and provide educational opportunities for students.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.e

    Governments, intergovernmental organizations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders should facilitate the affordability of healthy diets through sustainable food systems for poor households through social protection programmes, such as vouchers for nutritious foods, cash transfers, school feeding programmes or other community meals programmes. These should be linked to clear nutritional outcomes, aligned with national food-based dietary guidelines and adapted to the needs of different age groups.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.f

    Governments and intergovernmental organizations should promote the readiness and resilience of social protection programmes to cope with pandemics and other systemic shocks that negatively impact food security and nutrition.

  • Recommendation 3.3.2.g

    Governments, consumers, farmers and other food producers organizations should promote the availability of safe and nutritious and sustainably produced food that contributes to healthy diets including nutritious and sustainably produced food from smallholders and family farmers and fishers markets, social organizations and other community-building efforts that engage people around local food cultures.