Developing the infrastructure for Short Food Supply Chains

This is a write-up of a workshop held at the University of Warwick on 20 February 2024 focussed  on developing practical strategies to develop the infrastructure for Short Food Supply Chains  (SFSCs). The workshop was attended by people from a range of different parts of the food sector,  including organisations working directly in and with SFSCs, academics and third sector and public officials. The report summarises the rationale and potential benefits of SFSCs, before outlining an approach to thinking about infrastructure for SFSCs under six headings: human, social, legal, financial, digital, and physical. We discuss workshop participants’ views on both the barriers and opportunities for developing the infrastructure under each heading and conclude by suggesting key actions different stakeholders could take to develop infrastructure to support SFSCs, and how the SFSC community might work towards these goals.

Authors: Tocco, B., Noble, J., Maye, D., Morse, A., Gorton, M. and Steytler, M. (2024), 
Workshop Report: Developing the infrastructure for Short Food Supply Chains, National Innovation 
Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE)