Urban Food Environments

The document argues that Africa's rapid urban growth necessitates immediate investment in food environments to prevent unhealthy path dependencies. It identifies a funding gap of US$100 million over the next five years across four key initiatives: AfriFOODlinks, the Africa Food Environment Research Network (FERN), the Living Off-Grid Food & Infrastructure Collaboration (LOGIC), and the Resilient Municipal Market Fund (ReMark). The brief emphasizes that urban food environments are shaped by physical, economic, social, and infrastructural factors, and suggests aligning these with agroecological principles to improve resilience, equity, and resource efficiency.

• Africa is experiencing rapid urban growth, with the 15 fastest-growing cities in the world located on the continent. The urban population is projected to rise from 698 million (45.9% of the total) in 2025 to 966 million (50.9%) by 2035.
• Rapid urbanisation is driving a 'nutrition transition' characterized by increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and 'fast street foods' high in fat, salt, and sugar, contributing to rising rates of diet-related non-communicable diseases (DR-NCDs).
• Infrastructure deficits—including energy, water, fuel, and transport—significantly influence dietary choices. For example, a lack of refrigeration and long shelf lives make UPFs more attractive for budget management.
• There is a critical window of 10–15 years to invest in infrastructure and policies to avoid 'path dependencies' that would be difficult to change as small urban agglomerations grow into full cities over the next century.
• The document identifies a total actionable funding pipeline of approximately US$100 million between 2025 and 2030 across four initiatives: AfriFOODlinks (US$50 million), LOGIC (US$6.5 million), ReMark (Phase 1: US$35 million), and FERN (grant funding needed, amount not specified).
• The Resilient Municipal Market Fund (ReMark) specifically targets urban food market infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa through a blended finance model involving a revolving debt facility and a technical assistance (TA) facility.

APA

Metelerkamp, L., Laar, A., Haysom, G., Holdsworth, M., Changula, M., & Bricas, N. (2025). Urban Food Environments. African Climate Foundation. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/801023_J-Food-environments_WEB-1.pdf

Chicago

Metelerkamp, Luke, Amos Laar, Gareth Haysom, Michelle Holdsworth, Meembo Changula, and Nicolas Bricas. Urban Food Environments. African Climate Foundation, 2025. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/801023_J-Food-environments_WEB-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Metelerkamp |first1=Luke |last2=Laar |first2=Amos |last3=Haysom |first3=Gareth |last4=Holdsworth |first4=Michelle |last5=Changula |first5=Meembo |last6=Bricas |first6=Nicolas |title=Urban Food Environments |publisher=African Climate Foundation |date=2025 |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/801023_J-Food-environments_WEB-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{metelerkamp2025urban, author = {Metelerkamp, Luke and Laar, Amos and Haysom, Gareth and Holdsworth, Michelle and Changula, Meembo and Bricas, Nicolas}, title = {{Urban Food Environments}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2025}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/801023_J-Food-environments_WEB-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }