Food systems are not sustainable, and efforts to address this are paralyzed by the complex networks of food system actors and factors that interact across sectoral and geographic scales. Actions at the community level can positively contribute toward globally sustainable food systems (SFS). Assessing such contributions has two central challenges: 1) a lack of methods that support alignment between communities and across scales, balanced against the need to involve the community in developing relevant indicators; and 2) the absence of adequate, fine grained data relevant to the community. Addressing these two challenges, this paper illustrates a proposed procedure that supports community engagement with, and assessment of, their contributions. Engaged by a community of Canadian dietitians, researchers used the Delphi Inquiry method, guided by the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, to address the first challenge, and causal loop diagrams informed by the Cultural Adaptation Template to address the second. Indicators were developed for dietitian-identified actions and outcomes for SFS. Modeling indicator interactions provide insight into how some actions are influenced by and reinforce the value placed on SFS within the professional cultural paradigm, as well as priority areas for action and measurement. Process-oriented assessment is useful in the context of partial and subjective understandings of a dynamic system, and supports continual adjustment in action. This article offers theoretical and practical insight for community engagement in addressing some of the systemic challenges in food systems. It accommodates community-based knowledge, applies process-indicators, and emphasizes the importance of cultural paradigms as a driving force of community-level actions, and overall system change. Under current conditions, facilitating SFS literacy among dietitians can amplify adaptations for broader SFS development. © 2020, The Author(s).

Objective: To synthesize research conceptualizing and measuring sustainable food systems (SFS) and diets and discusses the results from the perspective of supporting community level participation in global SFS. Design: Researchers conducted a narrative review of the literature, structured results into emergent categories and themes, and analyzed against known challenges to community level measurement. Results: Concepts defining SFS fall into the following broad approaches: visionary, multidimensional, resilience and parametres. Within these, common categories and emergent themes are reported. Assessment of SFS and diets can be grouped into three general approaches: multidimensional progress reporting, composite scores, and vulnerability assessments. Assessment is challenged by data gaps, especially at the community level, making community engagement in broader global goals elusive. Conclusions: Results contribute to SFS theory by suggesting a need to further develop existing parametres concepts, which set out system limits and principled approaches to governing those systems and show promise for assessment in the absence of adequate data. Future research directions might explore parametres approaches for supporting community level contributions to SFS in a way that demonstrates local-to-global alignment. These will be relevant to practitioners in nutrition, public health and community development, who are well-positioned to facilitate such work.

Purpose: In this paper, we begin to set out language defining sustainablefood systems (SFS) in Canada, through the voices of dietitians, andidentify leverage points where dietitians can affect change.Methods: Dietitians of Canada members were invited to a Delphi Inquiryprocess; questions explored a vision of SFS in Canada, barriers to thatvision, and actions. Results were independently analysed by 2 membersof the research team who used the Framework for Strategic SustainableDevelopment to structure the data.Results: Fifty-eight members participated. The resultant vision describesa future food system in 15 thematic areas of the social and ecologicalsystems. Barriers are described according to how they undermine sustainability.High-leverage actions areas included: (i) facilitating knowledgedevelopment within the profession and public, (ii) influencing organizationalpolicy to support SFS, and (iii) and influencing public policy.Approaches to such action included: (i) facilitating cross-sectoral collaborationand (ii) applying reflexive approaches.Conclusions: This research suggests a multidimensional understandingof food systems sustainability among dietitians. The vision provides somelanguage to describe what dietitians mean by SFS and can be used as acompass point to orient action. Action areas and approaches have thepotential to drive systemic change while avoiding unintendedconsequences.

Interest in food systems sustainability is growing, but progress toward them is slow. This research focuses on three interrelated challenges that hinder progress. First, prevailing visions lack a concrete definition of sustainability. Second, global level conceptions fail to guide responses at the local level. Third, these deficiencies may lead to conflicting initiatives for addressing sustainable food systems at the community level that slow collective progress. The purpose of this article is to (1) describe the development of a framework for assessing food system sustainability which accommodates local-level measurement in the context of broader national and global scale measures; and (2) to propose a process that supports community determinacy over localized progress toward sustainable food systems. Using a modified Delphi Inquiry process, we engaged a diverse, global panel of experts in describing "success" with respect to sustainable food systems, today's reality, and identifying key indicators for tracking progress towards success. They were asked to consider scale during the process in order to explore locally relevant themes. Data were analyzed using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) to facilitate a comprehensive and systematic exploration of key themes and indicators. Key results include a framework of indicator themes that are anchored in a concrete definition of sustainability, stable at national and global scales while remaining flexible at the local scale to accommodate contextual needs. We also propose a process for facilitating community-level planning for food system sustainability that utilizes this indicator framework. The proposed process is based on insights from the research results, as well as from previous research and experience applying the FSSD at a community level; it bears promise for future work to support communities to determine their own pathways, while contributing to a more coordinated whole. © 2017 by the author.

Purpose: A small but growing body of peer-reviewed research suggests that school gardens can play a role in building community food security (CFS); however, to date little research exploring the role of school gardens in supporting CFS is available. This paper begins to address this gap in the literature. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, single-case study design was used. The focus of this case study was the school food garden at an elementary school in the River Valley, Nova Scotia, school community. Results: Results provide useful information about potential CFS effects of school gardens in addition to the environmental effects on school gardens important to their effectiveness as CFS tools. Findings suggest children gained food-related knowledge, skills, and values that support long-term CFS. A local social and political landscape at the community, provincial, and school board level were key to strengthening this garden's contributions to CFS. Conclusions: We support Dietitians of Canada's nomination of school gardens as an indicator of CFS with theoretical and practical evidence, underscore the importance of a supportive environment, and need for further research in this area. Health professionals and community organizations provide critical support, helping to weave gardens into a greater movement towards building CFS.