A street vendor woman wearing a traditional Vietnamese conical hat, smiling and carrying baskets of fruits including bananas and apples on a balance pole. Behind her, there is a sign that reads 'WELCOME to Front Porch,' and she is standing on a sidewalk next to a tree with hanging lanterns, with a motorbike and a person riding it visible in the background.

Shaping Equitable

Urban Food Futures

Working with community organisations, NGOs, and research partners to build healthier, more sustainable urban food systems that strengthen public health and reduce diet‑related NCD risks

A busy city intersection with a person wearing traditional Asian conical hat selling fruits from a basket on a bicycle, surrounded by motorbikes and cars, with buildings, trees, and a bus in the background, in warm sunlight.
A man walking while pushing a bicycle cart loaded with bananas and other goods on a busy street with motorcycles, cars, and a bus in the background.
A busy outdoor market stall filled with fresh vegetables, leafy greens, and other produce. Several people are shopping, including a woman sitting among the vegetables and a man examining the produce. Large baskets and containers of vegetables such as carrots, radishes, potatoes, and greens are visible.

Across rapidly growing LMIC cities, the conditions shaping daily nutrition are shifting faster than public health systems can respond

4 Core Pillars

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Urban Food Systems

Examining how commercial food environments and rapid city growth shape daily access and health
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NCD Prevention & Behaviour Change

Applying practical behavior change frameworks to tackle diet-related chronic diseases in communities
A black leaf emblem inside a circle on an orange background.

Nutrition Quality

Analysing dietary shifts such as ultra‑processed foods, and how nutrient gaps affect health outcomes
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Food Insecurity & Equity

Addressing the structural conditions, affordability barriers, and lived realities of food access

Urban Food Systems are Defining Future Health

The Ultra-Processed Food Shift

In urban LMIC settings, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) now account for 40–60% of daily calories, with the highest concentrations found in urban, younger, and lower-income households. This shift is driving rapid increases in obesity and diet-related chronic conditions.

Close-up of skewered fried foods on a bamboo tray at a street food stall, with a stainless steel pot in the background.

Rapid Urban Growth

Urbanisation is accelerating across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with urban populations now reaching 60–80%. As cities expand, commercial food systems are fundamentally reshaping daily life and local food environments.

Urban hillside neighborhood with colorful homes, including a red and yellow house, and a city skyline with high-rise buildings in the background.

The Health Toll: Heart & Brain

While cardiovascular mortality has declined in high-income nations, it is rising across LMICs due to shifting commercial and environmental determinants. At the same time, structural pressures take a heavy cognitive toll: severe food insecurity increases the odds of mild cognitive impairment by 2.5X for adults over 50, compounding vulnerability in rapidly changing cities.

An elderly man wearing a white t-shirt, glasses, and a baseball cap stands in a garden under a wooden structure with solar panels, holding onto a wooden post, surrounded by green plants.

Services

We bridge public health research with frontline tools for community impact

  • Turning dietary intake and food systems data into practical public‑health strategies.

  • Applied research, evidence synthesis, and data analysis that turn complex nutrition and food‑systems science into actionable insight for public‑health and institutional partners.

  • Community‑focused nutrition education and behaviour programmes that strengthen public‑health impact.

Get Started
A smiling woman in colorful traditional clothing with a red headwrap and flower, selling fresh fruit such as watermelon, pineapple, and bananas at an outdoor market.

Foundations for a Equitable Food System

Equitable food access isn’t something one group can fix alone, it takes governments, organisations, and communities working together to build systems that actually support people’s everyday lives.

When communities have the tools, knowledge, and infrastructure to grow and access nutritious food, they’re less dependent on outside help and more able to shape their own futures.

Making sure people can rely on sustainable food sources isn’t just a development goal, it’s a basic part of reducing health gaps and supporting well-being across different regions and circumstances.

Latest Articles

Crowded street scene with vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians in warm sunlight amid buildings and greenery.

When the City Shapes the Mind: Stress, Food, and NCDs in LMICs

In cities where stress is constant, the mind adapts and those adaptations shape how people eat, cope, and stay healthy

Where Food Meets Survival: A Reflection on South Africa’s Food Realities

A reflection on the lived realities of urban hunger in South Africa, where informal food economies, policy gaps, and daily precarity expose the systems that make food insecurity inevitable

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A street market stall with fruits and vegetables under a makeshift canopy on the sidewalk, next to a street sign that reads 'Roy Rd'. Cars are parked in the background on a sunny day with a blue sky.
A display of various fresh fruits including oranges, green apples, black plums, bananas, and red apples at a market stand, with a sign advertising any 3 fruits for $1 or each for 40 cents.

Rising Food Costs and Vulnerable Communities in the UK

Exploring the realities and challenges of food insecurity, looking at causes, impacts, and potential future solutions

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