Municipal food systems planning in Sweden

Barriers, enablers, and the role of regional collaboration

Abstract

Municipal food systems planning, which involves integrating different food policy areas and collabo­rating both within municipalities and with external food system actors, is increasingly recognized as essential for building resilient food systems. While local governments globally are giving greater atten­tion to food systems planning, practical gaps per­sist and barriers to transformation remain underex­plored. In Sweden, municipalities hold extensive food-related responsibilities, ranging from public meal provision and public food procurement to spatial planning, contingency planning, and the promotion of sustainable development. This pro­vides a relevant and interesting context for examin­ing local-scale food systems planning. Drawing on an institutionalist view, recognizing the interrela­tionship between structural factors and agency in planning processes taking a particular focus on context, interviews and document analysis were conducted to investigate food systems planning in three Swedish municipalities. We focus on identify­ing key barriers and enablers, and we examine their collaborations with regional food system actors. The municipalities employed three distinct approaches to food systems planning: emphasizing local food procurement, working through food-related projects, and implementing a local food strategy. Across all cases, committed officials—whom we refer to as “food champions”—were found to be central to advancing transformative efforts. Barriers included constraints linked to reg­ulations and limited time and resources, particularly regarding the procurement of local food. In con­trast, having a local food strategy provided man­date and direction, supporting both internal and external collaboration. Project-based work enabled innovation but suffered from unstable funding and limited long-term continuity. Regional actors played a crucial role in facilitating collaborative platforms and knowledge exchange. Together, these findings emphasize the contextual interplay between structural and agential factors in advanc­ing municipal food systems planning, and how they act as barriers or enablers. The findings highlight that in addition to developing local food strategies, local food systems identity and norms, collabora­tive routines, strong political support, resources for implementation, and officials responsible for coor­dinating food systems planning in the municipality, are key enabling factors.