This blog was originally written for AfriFOODlinks by Paola Castaneda Rodriguez (ICLEI World Secretariat), edited by Matteo Bizzotto (ICLEI World Secretariat).

AfriFOODlinks is a European Union-funded project supporting African cities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to build more circular, inclusive, and climate-resilient urban food systems. Through coaching programs, knowledge exchange, and multi-stakeholder engagement, the project works across cities on the African continent to integrate circularity and equity into food value chains.

Circular food systems are often framed in technical terms: reducing waste, closing resource loops, and improving efficiency. Yet, as participants in the AfriFOODlinks Circularity and Inclusivity Coaching Program have reflected, a truly circular food system must also consider whose voices are included, how trade-offs and co-benefits are managed, and who benefits. Without this broader perspective, circularity risks optimizing systems without transforming them in ways that support both people and planet. As the coaching journey progressed, the focus shifted to how circular approaches can actively reduce, rather than reinforce, inequality.

Why equity matters in circular food systems

Equity starts from a simple recognition: people do not begin from the same place. It calls for a fair distribution of resources, opportunities, and decision-making power. Inclusivity means that women, young people, smallholders, informal workers, and low-income residents are not only present in food systems, but have agency, contribute to shaping them, and benefit from their outcomes.

For SMEs, this raises practical and sometimes uncomfortable questions: Are smallholders being paid a fair price? Do workers have safe conditions and dignified livelihoods? Is surplus food redirected to communities facing food insecurity? Are residents involved when new projects or business models are designed? This is where circular business models intersect with social justice.

A framework for fairness: Access, participation, opportunity

One tool emerging from this work is a Social Equity framework built around three pillars: Access, Participation, and Opportunity. At its core lies the recognition of historical and structural inequalities that shape food systems today, alongside community assets — diverse skills, local knowledge, social networks, and cultural heritage — as essential foundations for equitable and circular solutions.

Access asks whether people have access to healthy, affordable, and locally produced food. Globally, food insecurity stems not from an overall lack of production, but from barriers related to price, location, and inequitable distribution. Strengthening access means ensuring nutritious food reaches low-income or remote neighborhoods, reducing food loss, and addressing the structural drivers of poverty.

Participation asks who gets to shape food systems. Building equitable systems requires meaningfully involving those most affected – smallholders, informal traders, women, young people, and low-income residents – in planning and decision-making from the outset, not after decisions have already been made. For SMEs, this can include engaging suppliers in pricing discussions, creating dialogue platforms, and partnering with cooperatives to co-design sourcing models.

Opportunity asks whether economic benefits are shared equitably. This means ensuring that small-scale producers can access higher-value markets, that pricing is transparent, and that workers are treated with dignity. It also means addressing structural barriers such as unequal access to land, finance, and infrastructure, which limit participation in the food economy.

Barriers and opportunities across the food value chain

Inequity in food systems rarely stems from a single issue. It arises from interconnected challenges related to distribution, finance, power, and historical exclusion. Even where cities produce enough food, low-income communities often face hunger or poor diets, while small-scale farmers struggle to access markets dominated by powerful intermediaries. Climate change further intensifies these pressures.

Access to finance remains a critical barrier. Many SMEs are committed to fair pricing and transparent contracts, but limited access to affordable credit, thin margins, and market volatility restrict their ability to invest in equitable sourcing practices. Supportive policies, fair market structures, and accessible finance are essential for equitable models to thrive.

Examples show that coordinated action can make a difference. In Tanzania, shortening supply chains and connecting producers more directly with urban consumers reduced transport costs, increased farmer incomes, and improved access to affordable fresh food, demonstrating how structural change can advance both circularity and equity at once.

The role of cities

SMEs cannot advance equity on their own. Cities have a major role to play by investing in cold storage and market infrastructure, improving systems that support informal traders, and using public procurement to prioritize local suppliers. Fair pricing mechanisms and capacity-building for cooperatives, women-led enterprises, and youth groups help redistribute power and strengthen resilience.

Learning across contexts: Equity lessons from Austin, Texas

Despite significant contextual differences, Austin’s experience echoed many of the same challenges and solutions discussed across AfriFOODlinks cities. As shared by Angela Baucom, Food and Climate Program Coordinator at Austin Climate Action and Resilience, the Austin–Travis County Food Plan is grounded in an explicit recognition of past racial and economic segregation, and built on a core principle: food is a human right.

Its work is guided by four pillars: trust-building through transparency and accountability; personalized engagement to remove participation barriers; mutual benefit that values community knowledge; and a strong focus on racial equity. Angela emphasized the importance of “ground truthing”, validating plans against lived experience to avoid top-down solutions that overlook community realities. Regenerative farming initiatives co-developed with refugee communities, for example, have improved soil health and local food production while creating income opportunities and strengthening social integration.

From circular to just: The road ahead

Moving from circular to just food systems means making social impacts intentional, ensuring that regeneration also translates into fair incomes, inclusive decision-making, and shared value across the value chain. Equity is not about perfection, but about deliberate choices that strengthen both communities and resilience.

Simple steps SMEs can take immediately include being transparent and timely in payments, especially to smallholders; listening actively to suppliers, staff, and community voices; prioritizing local sourcing from women- and youth-led enterprises; and continuously asking: who benefits from this model, and who might be left behind?

Circularity gives us the tools. Equity gives us the purpose.

Featured photo credit: Kenny Oni for the 2023 African CITYFOOD Month photo competition “Urban Recipes.”