The potential of Short Food Supply Chains for sustainable urban agri-food systems: The UFIL of Milano Ristorazione

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) are seen as possible sustainable alternatives to long globalized food supply chains. Different SFSCs models in the literature are built on the multidimensional concept of proximity, which refers not only to geographical closeness but also to the relationship between supply chain actors (relational proximity) and the degree of information sharing upstream and downstream (information proximity). These three dimensions of proximity can produce different sustainability impacts. This chapter investigates the innovation of introducing SFSC products in the school canteen meals served by Milano Ristorazione (MiRi) in Milan, based on the Urbal framework and the concept of SFSCs. We explore this innovation by drawing on interviews with MiRi representatives as well as the results of a participatory workshop with 20 stakeholders. To corroborate our findings, we analyse the MiRi kitchen’s meal delivery service from production centres to school canteens, following the same approach. We conclude that the geographical proximity of MiRi’s food suppliers and kitchen centres to school canteens is not sufficient to guarantee the sustainability of locally sourced products and short-distance logistics systems but that new forms of vertical cooperation and information sharing constitute key levers for sustainability. Finally, the Urban Food Innovation Lab provides learnings for practitioners and policymakers towards a new participatory approach for the development of procurement tenders focused on sustainability.