Improving Diets through Food Systems

This document walks through each component of the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security's (RFS) conceptual framework so that users can better understand the components of a food system and how to apply the framework to program design.

This interactive presentation (Prezi) will stimulate thinking and conversations around the RFS Conceptual Framework, encourage independent and group exploration, and support “systems thinking.”

This guide provides all the materials needed (facilitator’s guide, two slide decks, all workshop handouts) to facilitate nutrition-sensitive agriculture design workshops. The design guide provides instructions for facilitators to conduct a three-day workshop that helps activity teams establish contextually appropriate, nutrition-sensitive agriculture outcomes, interventions, and indicators.

This resource also supports Food Environment and Food and Water Utilization.

This technical brief helps USAID and its implementing partners design and implement food processing activities for improved diets and nutrition. The brief describes how food processing can improve diets, how it fits within USAID’s multi-sectoral food security and nutrition strategies, and what to consider when implementing food processing activities to improve diets and nutrition. 

This resource also supports Food Environment.

This landscape assessment helps USAID to better understand how food processing has been included in Feed the Future programming. It provides recommendations for improving food processing programming to increase year-round access to and consumption of foods that form part of a safe, nutritious diet. 

This resource also relates to Investment Levers.

This report presents findings from a landscape assessment, a ranking exercise, and a survey that led to a priority list of methods, tools, and metrics for evaluating informal and formal market food environments in low- and middle-income countries.

This package helps global development partners working in low- and middle-income countries collect data that assesses the food environment.  It includes documentation of a multi-year pilot study in Liberia, Honduras, Nigeria, and Timor-Leste that evaluated seven food environment assessments for their feasibility and acceptability.

This guide supports nutrition program planners by defining, describing, and explaining the process of developing high-quality programs to market healthy diets. The guide enables teams to make informed marketing decisions, create strong marketing campaigns, and diagnose and solve marketing challenges.

This open access article shares the findings from a study that evaluated the suitability of data-collection assessments (including methods, tools, and metrics) for multiple dimensions of the external and personal domains of market food environments in informal and formal markets in low- and middle-income countries.

This concept note describes evidence and opportunities for programmatic approaches to engage young people (between 10 to 29 years of age) in food systems activities for improved diet and nutrition outcomes.

This technical brief suggests how to take evidence-based actions that consider gender when designing and implementing approaches to improve diets through the food system. It offers ideas across the food system for promoting gender equality while improving diets.

The brief provides guidance on how to take evidence-based actions that consider the Agriculture-to-Nutrition Pathways when designing and implementing approaches to improve diets through food systems programming.

This tool provides a list of evidence-based nutrition-sensitive behaviors to spark ideas and discussion among activity designers and implementers. This list can help to identify nutrition-sensitive behaviors across the food system and food system actors to support an activity’s nutrition outcomes.

This resource also supports Food Supply, Food Environment, Food and Water Utilization, Investment Levers, and Development Outcomes.

This decision tool helps practitioners and decision makers understand dietary patterns and nutrient intake. It supports design, monitoring, and evaluation efforts to improve diets. It provides existing data sources and data collection tools related to five target groups.

This resource also supports Food and Water Utilization.

Placeholder TEXT - This decision tool helps practitioners and decision makers understand dietary patterns and nutrient intake. It supports design, monitoring, and evaluation efforts to improve diets. It provides existing data sources and data collection tools related to five target groups.