Urbanization has reduced local food production and widened the gap between farmers and consumers—especially children. At the same time, school canteens struggle to provide healthy meals, while local farmers face limited market access.
Through this project, we are building a new bridge between schools and local food producers by piloting a sustainable school food procurement model. By connecting urban and peri-urban farmers with school canteens, we aim to improve children’s access to nutritious food, support local farmers’ livelihoods, and strengthen Surakarta’s food system from the ground up.
Indonesia’s rapid urbanization is putting pressure on local food systems, particularly in cities like Surakarta, where agricultural land is shrinking and only 8% of food needs are met locally. This creates a heavy reliance on distant supply chains, leaving the city vulnerable to climate risks and market disruptions.
At the same time, children in urban areas face a dual burden of malnutrition: undernutrition remains significant among early adolescents, while overnutrition is increasingly common due to poor dietary diversity and lack of food quality control in schools. With urban populations expected to be dominated by youth by 2030, ensuring access to nutritious, affordable, and sustainable food for children is both urgent and essential.
This project responds to these challenges by reconnecting urban and peri-urban food producers with school food procurement systems, strengthening food security, supporting smallholder livelihoods, and building more resilient local supply chains.
This project brings together food producers, schools, cooperatives, and local authorities to co-create a more resilient and inclusive food system. Our core strategy is to develop a scalable, sustainable model for school food procurement that links urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) with the growing demand for healthy, affordable meals for school children, particularly in cities like Surakarta.
We start by mapping local and school food flows, analyzing policies, and engaging stakeholders to understand the food environment around schools. With these insights, we co-create and pilot inclusive business models that connect smallholder farmers and cooperatives directly to school canteens or kitchen/catering service for school meal programmes. These models are supported by capacity building in regenerative agriculture and sustainable procurement practices, as well as investments in demonstration plots and climate-smart technologies like weather stations and drip irrigation systems.
Throughout the project, we engage in participatory design, implement multi-stakeholder processes, and co-develop technical guidelines for school procurement. From policy advocacy to hands-on support for aggregators and farmers, each step is monitored and refined to ensure long-term impact, scalability, and alignment with national priorities like the school meals programme and local economic development.
By bridging the gap between production and consumption, we’re not only improving children’s access to nutritious food but also creating new economic opportunities for farmers and SMEs, strengthening the resilience of urban food systems from the ground up.
By the end of the project, we expect to see a stronger, more resilient local food system in Surakarta, one that not only provides healthier food options for school children but also strengthens the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and food vendors.
For farmers and cooperatives, the project supports at least two urban and peri-urban farmer organizations to improve their agribusiness practices, engage in inclusive business models, and access new markets through school food procurement. Over 100 farmers, particularly women, will benefit from training in regenerative agriculture, climate-smart practices, and aggregation mechanisms. These interventions aim to increase farmers’ income, enhance climate resilience, and reduce dependency on volatile supply chains.
For schools and children, at least two pilot distribution models and inclusive business model development will be co-designed with local stakeholders to integrate locally grown produce into school canteens. As a result, more children will have access to nutritious, diverse, and safe meals. Diet quality improvements will be monitored using tools such as the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS), while an increasing number of schools are expected to adopt healthy canteen practices.
For policy and city-wide food systems, the project will contribute to improved coordination among city actors and stimulate the development or refinement of policies and action plans supporting inclusive school food procurement and sustainable urban agriculture. Additional investments are expected to be leveraged to scale up the initiative.
For women-led SMEs, particularly school canteen operators, the project will enhance business efficiency through tailored training and support, empowering them as key players in transforming local food environments.
For the environment, the transition to regenerative farming practices will contribute to improved soil health and reduced greenhouse gas emissions—laying the foundation for a food system that benefits both people and the planet.
