Public food procurement for sustainable food systems and healthy diets – Volume 1

“Public food procurement for sustainable food systems and healthy diets” is divided into two volumes. It discusses public food procurement (PFP) initiatives designed with the objective of advancing social, economic and environmental development through government purchases. Often referred to as “institutional procurement,” PFP has been receiving increased attention in the literature and from policymakers and development agencies over the past decades; it is seen as an important policy instrument that has the potential to deliver multiple benefits to a ultiplicity of beneficiaries and influence both food consumption and food production patterns. PFP is also increasingly recognized as an important entry point for policymakers to build more sustainable food systems and promote healthy diets. PFP initiatives include school feeding rogrammes, as well as the purchase of food for public universities, hospitals, prisons and social programmes. These two volumes are the result of the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).