What is a Food System?

Food systems encompass the entire range of biological processes and the broader economic, societal, and natural environments in which they are embedded. It also includes the people and activities involved in the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal (loss or waste) of food products that originate from agriculture (including livestock), forestry, fisheries, and food industries.

Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, Food System Primer
USDA Food and Nutrition Service –Office of Community Food Systems

What is a Resilient, Regenerative, Equitable, and Anti-Racist Food System?

A resilient food system functions to ensure food security under all circumstances, for all people, at all times -- even during times of crisis or disruption. It also functions to restore environmental damage and address historic inequities. It is place-based and requires engagement and participation from the grassroots. Bottom-up input and action helps to shape a food system that works for everyone and prioritizes environmental health and sustainability.

An equitable and anti-racist food system has eliminated the socio-economic barriers and power disparities that impede healthy food access and healthy food production. It supports and sustains policies, processes, and practices that identify, confront, and address racial and economic inequities wherever they exist. Inequitable food systems are not consistent or compatible with a resilient food system, in part because they contain groups that are more vulnerable and bear greater risk than others. 

According to the USDA and the Vermont Law School Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, a resilient food system is: Aware, Diverse, Integrated, Inclusive and Equitable, Adaptive, and Self-Regulating.

Read more about the importance of local food systems and food hubs.