Food for the Cities

Neither the Millennium Development Goals nor the World Food Summit’s goals will be achieved if appropriate attention is not given to cities and rural-urban linkages.

As cities expand, so do the food needs of urban families. While impacts of the food and financial crisis affect both rural and urban populations, the urban poor have been among the hardest hit. Urban consumers are almost exclusively dependent on food purchases and variations in food prices and income directly translate into diminished purchasing power and rising rates of food insecurity, thus compromising dietary quantity and quality. Changes in lifestyles have further contributed to increased urban malnutrition and diet-related chronic diseases.

FAO already has been taking action by providing direct assistance to cities through a variety of programmes and projects, including its Special Programme for Food Security, its Decentralized Cooperation Programmes, its emergency operations, and TeleFood.

See also: http://www.fao.org/fcit/en/