This study explores how community-led initiatives known as ‘seeds’ are transforming Ghana’s food systems. These 80 diverse projects tackle challenges such as hunger, poor nutrition, climate change, and poverty. From promoting sustainable farming and fisheries to creating healthier diets and supporting local economies, the seeds show how local innovation can help achieve global goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By highlighting these grassroots efforts, the study shows that local actors play a crucial role in building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food systems, and can inspire broader change by addressing real-world problems in creative and impactful ways.

Food system transformation is essential for achieving the 2030 Agenda, yet top-down policies often overlook the localized, emergent innovations occurring at the community level. This study investigates the potential of ‘seeds’ – locally embedded, small-scale, community-led initiatives – to catalyse transformative shifts towards sustainable and equitable food systems in Ghana. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected on 80 food system seeds via online searches, snowball sampling, and community engagement across 11 key study sites. We used a hybrid inductive–deductive coding framework to assign primary and related SDGs to each seed, with four researchers coding after a calibration process to ensure reliability. The seeds contributed to 15 of the 17 SDGs, with a predominant focus on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 1 (No Poverty). Analysis indicates that these initiatives move beyond simple project-based interventions by addressing the food–water–energy nexus through decentralized, community-driven pathways. While social and ecological dimensions are frequently prioritized, results highlight significant synergies across goals, demonstrating the capacity of localized seeds to address complex, interconnected food system challenges. This study offers a methodological template to assess the transformative potential of food system seeds, linking grassroots innovation with global sustainability goals.

A study documenting how local innovations are transforming Ghana’s food systems and helping to achieve SDGs.

This study examines factors influencing the development of disaster meal provision manuals in food service facilities in earthquake-prone regions of Japan. Given the increasing frequency of natural disasters, ensuring meal service facilities’ preparedness is crucial to safeguarding vulnerable populations, including infants, pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with chronic conditions.

A survey of 866 meal service facilities in Mie Prefecture, Japan, was conducted to assess disaster preparedness measures. Key factors analyzed included the presence of registered dietitians, disaster preparedness drills, and stockpiling of balanced emergency food supplies. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of manual development.

The presence of registered dietitians (OR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.95-4.08), disaster preparedness training (OR = 3.15, 95% CI: 2.18-4.57), and balanced emergency food stockpiles (OR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.66-3.83) were significant predictors of disaster meal provision manual development.

Findings underscore the essential role of dietitians in disaster nutrition planning and highlight the need for proactive preparedness strategies to enhance food security and facility resilience. These insights can inform policy recommendations in Japan and other disaster-prone regions facing similar challenges.

To examine whether different message frames increase public support for a community-identified policy solution to improve food security in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.

An online experimental study in which participants were randomly assigned to one of three message frames: human rights, fairness or community-identified solution or a control condition. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations between message frames and support for an electricity subsidy policy. Interaction analyses explored whether participant characteristics moderated these effects.

Australia.

A nationally representative sample of 1555 Australian adults recruited through an online panel.

Message framing had limited overall impact on policy support. The human rights frame generated the highest support for the proposed subsidy, while the fairness frame generated the lowest; however, these differences were modest. We found that regardless of frame used, Greens supporters, those with postgraduate degrees or those who watched the news more frequently, tended to have higher levels of agreement with the policy solution.

Although message framing is widely used in advocacy to increase policy support, its impact in this context appears constrained. These findings underscore the complexity of shifting public attitudes toward policies benefiting structurally disadvantaged communities and suggest that more targeted, audience-specific framing may be necessary. Further research should explore why certain frames underperform among particular groups and examine how agreement and emotional engagement jointly shape support for policy change.

To assess the preliminary effectiveness of a food pantry-led, subsidised community-supported agriculture (CSA) program.

A quasi-experimental observational pilot study with 3-month follow-up. ‘Farm Share’ the subsidised CSA provided biweekly bags of approximately 25 pounds of fresh produce priced at $5 per bag. Control participants were recruited from a comparable food pantry without CSA. Outcomes included skin carotenoids, fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, diet quality and food security. Changes between groups were analysed using generalised estimating equations and mixed-effect regression models.

New York City, NY, United States.

Participants (Farm Share n 54, control n 69) were predominantly Hispanic/Latino, Black or African American, foreign-born, female and had a high school education or lower.

Retention rate was 65·0 % at follow-up (Farm Share n 33, control n 47). Compared with control, skin carotenoids increased (+12 points) in the Farm Share group, adjusted for smoking status, age, sex and birthplace (P = 0·005). Total healthy eating index (HEI) (–6·3 points) and saturated fats HEI (–1·1 point) declined in the Farm Share group (P = 0·031 and P = 0·027, respectively). Non-significant trends were observed for improvements in FV intake (P = 0·25) and food security (P = 0·16).

Findings from this pilot study suggested Farm Share’s preliminary effectiveness and study feasibility in urban food pantry settings, supporting integrating subsidised CSA within food pantries to enhance fresh produce access among communities experiencing food insecurity. However, fully powered trials are needed to confirm these findings.

To optimise school food baskets in Ghana to meet newly proposed food and nutrition targets while considering cultural acceptability and cost.

This was a modelling study. Data on existing school meal menus were collected from various regions to provide baseline inputs. Linear programming (LP) was used to model school meal baskets that satisfied minimum nutrient and food targets for school meals while meeting cost and acceptability constraints. Five LP models were tested, each varying in budget constraints and acceptability/food-based parameters.

Ghana.

NA.

Baseline school food baskets were significantly deficient in energy, protein, Fe, Zn, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin C compared to food and nutrient standards for school meals in Ghana. Optimisation resulted in school food baskets that met cost, nutrient and food-based/acceptability targets but with substantial deviations from baseline. Achieving nutritional adequacy within cost limits increased reliance on animal-source foods and led to higher environmental impacts, indicating trade-offs between nutrition, affordability and environmental sustainability.

The study underscores LP’s potential for enhancing school meals in Ghana but highlights the need for increased financial investment for reaching dietary goals. Addressing local realities and cultural preferences is essential for implementing effective, sustainable school meal strategies and improving child health.

Science diplomacy (SD) is increasingly used to encourage international collaboration and produce knowledge for global challenges. This study explores how a 12-year SD campaign helped shape a scientific community around the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus – a framework linking resource systems for sustainability. By analyzing events, recruitment efforts, and over 1,600 scientific publications, we trace how this community formed, evolved, and interacted with policy agendas. The results show both progress and challenges: growing collaboration and new research directions, but also delays between diplomatic goals and scientific output. The findings offer insights into how SD can support long-term sustainability through knowledge and institutional networks.

Global sustainability challenges have increased reliance on SD to mobilize research communities and align scientific production with policy goals. A central mechanism in these efforts is the formation of scientific epistemic communities (ECs), yet evidence on how SD contributes to durable communities and actionable knowledge remains limited. This study examines a 12-year SD campaign promoting the WEF Nexus, a framework encouraging integrated governance of interdependent resource systems. We combine qualitative coding of 143 SD events and 107 scientific recruitment activities with bibliometric analysis of 1,643 WEF publications (2011–2022). This mixed-methods approach traces the temporal and structural evolution of the WEF EC, focusing on recruitment patterns, thematic consolidation, and co-authorship network resilience. Findings show that SD efforts broadened participation, supported the emergence of a recurring group of authors, diversified journal outlets, and expanded global collaboration networks. Network simulations reveal that by 2022 the EC was moderately resilient but remained dependent on a small subset of strategically connected researchers. The analysis also identifies a temporal lag between SD agenda-setting and scientific response, raising considerations about the alignment of science and policy cycles. Overall, the results clarify conditions under which SD can catalyze scientific community formation and support sustainability-oriented knowledge infrastructures.

How does SD shape global research? Our new study on the WEF Nexus reveals key mechanisms and insights.

Food banks in the United States are part of the robust food system that addresses hunger among the population. A comprehensive description of the challenges faced by food banks in the United States is crucial to understanding and responding to the diverse needs. A careful assessment of the literature highlights opportunities not only to improve the efficiency of services, but also to identify strategies and strengthen partnerships to build a sustainable food system.

This systematic scoping review aimed to characterize the challenges in the US food banks and recognize opportunities for a sustainable food system. Five electronic search engines/databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library, were searched for literature published between 2013 and 2025. The search results were reported per the PRISMA guidelines. Of the 123 selected articles, a majority covered operational challenges (n = 26), strategies to improve operations (n = 16), challenges related to nutrition and health (n = 25), followed by beneficiaries (n = 20), emergencies (n = 15), resources (n = 14), and chronic diseases (n = 7). Supply chain, partnerships, distribution, and adherence to equity principles were included under operational challenges. Fiscal, human resource, and infrastructural challenges were discussed under resource challenges. Beneficiaries, particularly the elderly, people with disabilities, refugees, and their unmet needs, were documented. During the pandemic, a lack of trained staff and a disrupted supply chain tested the resilience of food banks. The need to consider the participants’ nutritional needs was recognized across a few domains. Opportunities for sustainable food systems emerged through exploring local resources, partnerships, and community engagements. Innovations in technology and efficient inventory management systems to minimize food waste, and education initiatives to foster self-management emerged as opportunities. Policies that advocate food and nutrition security will create a resilient food system.

Identifying opportunities to address challenges in US food banks to contribute to a sustainable food system.

Agriculture is the single largest cause for transgressing planetary boundaries. A global transformation to sustainable intensification is required in order to hold the windows open for meeting the Paris climate accord of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and the global biodiversity framework of halting loss of biodiversity, while securing food for a growing world population. Conservation Agriculture (CA) offers the only universally applicable agricultural practices that can be adopted at scale and speed, i.e., across all agro-ecological zones within the coming 1–2 decades. We review the rationale, evolution, and prospects of CA across the world.

We estimate that CA has almost doubled from approximately 100 to 200 M ha between 2008/09 and 2018/19, covering approximately 15% of global cropland. Our projections until 2024, estimates another 30% increase (to 250–270 M ha), with a potential of expanding to 50% of global cropland area by 2050 (≈700 M ha).

CA includes three fundamental principles; zero-tillage, cover crops, and diverse crop rotations. Converting from conventional tillage-based ploughing to CA sequesters ∼0.1–2 t C ha−1 yr−1. Considering an average sequestration potential with CA of 0.5–0.9 t carbon ha−1 y−1, converting the total 1.5 billion ha of global cropland to CA could sequester 0.41–0.82 billion t of carbon ha−1 y−1. Additionally, CA reduces pressure on biodiversity, increases soil moisture holding capacity, builds resilience of plant production to extremes, and reduces fuel use for tillage by 50–70 %.

CA has proven to maintain, stabilize, and increase high yield levels in intensive agricultural systems, which currently are stagnating or even decreasing in tillage-based agricultural systems, while significantly increasing yield levels on relatively poor or degraded agricultural soils. While CA is not a panacea for all food production challenges, it is difficult to find a more ready-to-scale farm practice.

Conservation Agriculture offers a universally applicable agricultural practices that can be adopted at scale and speed.