Measuring resilience in national food systems using “food systems resilience score”

Achieving Zero Hunger by 2030, a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, requires resilient food systems capable of securely feeding billions. This article introduces the Food Systems Resilience Score (FSRS), a novel framework that adapts a proven resilience measurement approach to the context of food systems. The FSRS builds on the success of the Community Flood Resilience Measurement Tool, which has been used in over 110 communities, by applying its five capitals (natural, human, social, financial, and manufactured) and four qualities (robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity) framework to food systems. We define food system resilience as the capacity to ensure adequate, appropriate, and accessible food supply to all, despite various disturbances and unforeseen disruptions. The FSRS measures resilience across multiple dimensions using carefully selected existing indicators, ensuring broad applicability and comparability. Our methodology includes rigorous technical validation to ensure reliability, including optimal coverage analysis, stability checks, and sensitivity testing. By providing standardized metrics and a comprehensive assessment of food system resilience, this framework not only advances research but also equips policymakers with valuable tools for effective interventions. The FSRS enables comparative analysis between countries and temporal tracking of resilience changes, facilitating targeted strategies to build and maintain resilient national food systems. This work contributes to the global effort toward long-term food security and sustainability.