What is the 6-key issues framework and why does it matter?

We live in a complex world of unseen connections. If we’re talking about bettering the food system, then we need to take a holistic “systems” approach to possible solutions. So, what is “systems thinking”? It means to consider the whole, rather than focus on the parts. It means to think about the connections between the elements of a situation, and their relationships, rather than define a single issue with a single linear solution.

Take food poverty as an example. Why are so many people in the UK suffering from food poverty? It’s rarely a simple case of ‘they don’t have enough money to buy food’, there will be a myriad of reasons why any one person finds themselves in food poverty. These reasons could be personal, infrastructural, governmental, cultural, seasonal… usually there is a whole spectrum of reasons, some laying far beyond a single person’s control.

Within the Sustainable Food Places programme, we take the view that to make healthy and sustainable food a defining characteristic of where people live, we must take a systems view of the underlying issues that prevent this from being the case. We understand, that if we just tackle food poverty, we won’t get very far.  

So, we take a holistic approach and encourage local food partnerships, local government, National governments, and interested individuals and businesses to take a bird’s eye view of what sort of food systems they have in their area. We have, in collaboration with our local and regional partners, developed a framework that forms the backbone of what makes a Sustainable Food Place so special – the 6-key issue framework.

So, what are the 6-key issues that we have come up with?

• Good Governance and Strategy: to create more inclusive and collaborative food decision-making by working closely with local authorities to deliver robust and representative food policies, strategies and action plans.

• Good Food Movement:  to expand public awareness of food, empowering local food citizenship and building the momentum of local good food movements.

• Healthy Food for All: working to ensure that all are able to access healthy and nutritious food in a dignified and equitable way.

• Sustainable Food Economy:  building prosperous local food economies by supporting local food businesses to grow and develop.

• Catering and Procurement: innovating how caterers procure food, making local supply chains more resilient and sustainable.

• Food for the Planet: tackling climate change by supporting local sustainable food production, protecting the environment and minimizing food waste.