The Global Alliance participated in sessions at the 52nd plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 52), scheduled from 21 to 25 October 2024 in Rome, Italy. As part of the Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism (PFM), we joined our partners and members to make interventions on the outcomes of the negotiations and at side events.

Statement on behalf of the PFM [full session here]

Thank you Chair for giving me the floor. I’m here on behalf of the Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism, and you can find our full statement on our website.

• We entered these negotiations with the expectation that this Committee would examine the diverse and deep-rooted systemic drivers of inequality. As we have stated before, this is an issue of significant importance to us. Private foundations, after all, are both products of inequality and organizations designed to address it;
• We welcome the outcomes of these intense negotiations and are pleased with the ambitious recommendations that emerged. These touch on several key issues relevant to our work—such as acknowledging and addressing power asymmetries in food governance and value chains, reinforcing the role of social protection and gender policies, and highlighting the need for better data collection on inequalities, among others. We commend the negotiators for their dedication and flexibility in achieving these results;
• For many we consulted, the key challenge was how to engage with the structural sources of inequality without losing a practical focus—ensuring the recommendations are implementable and actionable;
• We see at least two ways in which philanthropies can make use of these outcomes. First, we now have a consensus-driven, internally agreed-upon menu of options that foundations can leverage to align their strategies, mobilize international support and partnerships, and adapt these global recommendations to their national and local contexts;
• Second, foundations can advocate for these recommendations in other international policy discussions they are involved in related to food system transformation, such as climate, biodiversity, and land conventions, the G20’s Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, and the upcoming +4 review of the Food Systems Summit, among others;
• While we are just at the beginning of this journey, these recommendations will serve as a guiding framework for philanthropies committed to addressing structural inequalities.

Side Event | Uncovering the invisible: A feminist call to urban food system transformation

Date: 23 October 2024
Time: 06:30 – 07:45 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)/ 08:30 – 09:45 Central European Time (CET)
Location: In-person and via Zoom Webinars
Register here
This event will be translated into Español and Français.

A feminist call to urban food system transformation advocates addressing intersecting inequalities within food systems and cities. It recognizes that women and marginalized communities play critical roles in food production, trading, preparation, and crisis management, yet often face barriers and discrimination in governance processes. To combat the invisibility of hunger and poverty in urban low-income areas, we present two arguments linking inequality debates with the right to food.

Firstly, gender-sensitive urban planning reveals hidden truths. Poverty, violence, and hunger are interconnected, yet modern city designs often conceal these realities. A feminist approach amplifies the voices of marginalized communities facing hunger and systemic exclusion. In Cape Town, community kitchens, mostly run by women, act as informal security systems and play key roles in food provisioning during crises. Women are champions of family nutrition and urban agroecology solutions.

Secondly, the right to food in urban areas can be progressively realized through meaningful citizen participation in food governance. Technical innovations like greenhouses in informal settlements significantly contribute to the urban poor’s food supply. Social innovations emphasize the participation of marginalized groups in policy processes. This builds on the CFS policy work on gender equality (2023), agroecological and other innovative approaches (2021), and inequality (2024/ongoing), pointing towards discussions on urban and peri-urban food systems (2025).

This event is hosted in partnership with the philanthropic mechanism at the CFS, TMG Think Tank, governments of Brazil and Canada, Caritas Kenya, and Instituto Comida do Amanhã in Brazil.

Remarks by Ruchi Tripathi, Climate and Nature Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food

As a feminist and gender justice advocate I am thrilled to be part of this panel. On behalf of the Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism I would like to thank you in advance all for this engaging panel discussion. 

A feminist perspective on urban food system transformation advocates for addressing the intersecting inequalities present within food systems and in our cities and peri-urban areas. It recognizes that women, especially those in marginalized communities, play critical roles in coping with crises, food production, distribution, and preparation. Yet, they often face disproportionate barriers and discrimination when they attempt to influence the very governance processes that affect them. 

People don’t live siloed lives, their identities, their socio-economic status, their gender and sexual orientation, their access to public services, whether they are affected by conflict all have an impact.

It is clear to me that merely making provisions for training, skills development, access to finance – without addressing underlying barriers that women and other gender diverse groups face in urban and peri-urban areas won’t get us very far. We need to address the unique challenges and opportunities arising from both multiple identities, the unique locations people find themselves in. 

On how philanthropies can build intersectional programs to enhance the movement for urban food system transformation which we see in many municipalities

Taking an intersectional feminist approach is key to achieving food security and gender equality. Millions of informal workers live in our cities and millions more are joining the growing informal economy in large parts of the world with very few formal job opportunities. 

I was recently in France for the The European Foundations for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (EFSAF) gathering where I was inspired to hear from French partners including from Caritas about their work around ensuring dignity in the provision of food assistance through solidarity webs at community and municipality level. 

Creating nurturing webs of solitary and mutual support is key. For a women waste picker with a young child in Kibera informal settlement mere provision of tools and protective clothing won’t be enough without looking at childcare provision, without addressing sexual and gender-based violence she faces. For fisherwomen in Visakhapatnam, India, the provision of cooling boxes without having access to an identity card that recognizes her as a fisherwomen would not go far. Addressing practical and strategic needs at the same time is essential.  

Inclusive urban planning and community engagement are key in keeping our cities and peri-urban areas safe for all – simple things from ensuring streets have names and are well lit as I saw in Reggio Calabria in Italy was very important for young women. In neighborhoods around the globe from peri-urban areas like Siaya county where women farmers and fisherwomen have formed beach watch committees to address violence against women and girls to ensuring streets are well lit in Reggio Calabria in Italy – community groups and women and girls are showing us the way. 

On the expectations from civil society, research  and philanthropy for CFS to strengthen intersectional and feminist practices in urban food system transformation?

I’d like to end by shining light on some of the recommendations from HLPE’s report on strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems to achieve food security and nutrition, in the context of urbanization and rural transformation: 

• supporting territorial systems and shorter supply chains to facilitate market access 

• access and affordability of healthy diets, with a particular focus on (poor) families living in poverty

• prioritize local, agroecological and small‑scale farmers in public procurement programmes

• enhance decent work and employment

Ultimately what we are looking for is vibrant communities within our cities, for our planners to think through multiple-uses of spaces, for food provision providers to think through access challenges. Let’s continue highlighting thousands of vibrant initiatives by community actors, by women’s groups, by youth groups, and others. 

We as the Philanthropy Foundations Mechanism remain committed to seeing how we can integrate this intersectional feminist approach to our work in urban and peri-urban areas and work towards the conclusion of progressive, ambitious, guidelines. 

Side Event | Why Global Food System Governance Matters to Philanthropic Foundations: Learning about the UN FAO’s Committee on Food Security

Date:  4 December 2024
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)/ 16:00 – 19:00 Central European Time (CET)
Location: Zoom Webinars
Register here.

Global food system governance is anything but simple. How food systems are shaped is increasingly discussed not only at the national level but also within global Climate and Biodiversity deliberations (COPs). That’s a good thing! But it can sometimes leave foundations wondering how policies are created and what is their relevance to work.

And yet, for a philanthropic foundation interested in supporting equitable and sustainable food systems at any level – whether local, national or international – gaining an understanding of global food systems governance is essential.

One multilateral space for international food system deliberations that rises above others due to its time-tested, participatory and influential nature is the UN FAO’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS). Its voluntary guidelines on critical issues such as nutrition, land tenure and agroecology and other innovations have been used widely.

Over the past year, a Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism (PFM) has been fortified so that foundations can participate in the CFS alongside civil society organizations, governments and the private sector. It is an exciting mechanism through which we can learn together and seek collaboration to strengthen participatory spaces for food systems governance.

As we approach the CFS, we invite you to join the PFM for an engaging discussion on the governance of global food systems. Hear a warm welcome from the CFS chair, an overview of food systems governance, and perspectives from foundation representatives who have chosen to invest time and resources into fortifying CFS processes. Register here.

(Photo: Neil Palmer, CIAT)