A tale of many cities: The role of inter-municipal food networks in changing the dominant food regime

Inter-municipal food networks (IFNs) have become an increasingly prominent vehicle for local governments to develop more social and ecologically sustainable urban food strategies. IFNs are highly diverse, operating at different scales and specializing on different practices, from mutual exchange to policy advocacy, thereby offering a wide range of possibilities for local governments to develop transformative capacities. Yet, surprisingly little research has examined the inter-municipal dynamics and impact of IFNs, as most studies remain focused on individual city case studies. This raises questions about how IFNs operate and to what extent they contribute to sustainable transformations within their member cities. This article explores these questions through a systematic review of academic literature on IFNs. It seeks to identify the scale, governance modes, political activities, as well as drivers and barriers to impact of IFNs studied in the literature. Drawing on the multilevel perspective, the article discusses what we know about IFN's potential for food regime transformation, and which questions remain unanswered. While it finds some indications that IFNs can inspire new urban food strategies and respond to diverse political economic contexts, significant knowledge gaps remain concerning their scale, organizational governance, ambitions and impact, which inhibits a comprehensive assessment of their transformative potential.