This paper draws on an international research collaboration to examine grass-roots innovations in food provisioning in five urban locations. These include affordable food projects, comprising social supermarkets and a vegetable box delivery scheme, in Brighton & Hove, UK; an affordable food project targeting black communities in Toronto, Canada; a food fund piloted in Montpellier, France; Solidarity Kitchens in São Paulo, Brazil; and primary school gardens in Cape Town, South Africa.
The paper examines the innovative features of these experiences, their comparison to conventional food banks, and their transformative impact on existing food aid narratives and practices. Grass-roots food provisioning models gained traction during the Covid-19 pandemic to address increased food insecurity and offer dignified, culturally appropriate support amid lockdowns. The challenges encountered by these innovations comprise their dependence on surplus food, logistical problems, funding limitations, and the requirement for ongoing volunteer support. Transformative aspects include their empowerment of marginalised groups, fostering of community alliances, and shifting of perspectives on food insecurity, aiming to create sustainable and just local food systems. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for funding to consolidate innovations as well as collaboration between researchers and practitioners to constructively scrutinise innovations and build knowledge on lived experience of food insecurity and injustice. International comparison and learning can enhance capacities, methodologies, and help develop justice-informed alternatives to the prevailing food aid model.
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