Community Food Systems Report Cards as Tools for Advancing Food Sovereignty in City-Regions

Abstract

Developing pragmatic possibilities for advancing food sovereignty to address challenges of justice and sustainability within food systems is an essential project for human survival. A practical starting point is to identify existing challenges along with comprehensive strategies that avoid isolated fixes. Community food systems report cards are a tool to inform and influence city-region food system governance by providing a connected and comprehensive snapshot of these systems, connecting people, places, and processes, and informing research, decision-making, and program planning. This article explores and reflects on the experiences of developing community food systems report cards in Thunder Bay and Durham Region in Ontario, Canada. Through sharing lessons learned, cautions, and limitations, we explore the report cards' origins, development processes, findings, distribution, and impacts. We argue that community food systems report cards can be a valuable tool for understanding a city-region food system, monitoring progress, identifying gaps, and comparing and communicating experiences to communities, food system stakeholders, and decision-makers. However, community food systems report cards are only the starting point for advancing food sovereignty in city-region food systems.