Reshaping our cities, one bite at a time
The neglect towards food is changing with cities working towards creating sustainable, efficient, and inclusive food systems
Almost every city in India celebrates its cuisine through a famous dish, centuries-old stories of how it was invented or popularised, and an iconic food street. In fact, food shapes a city, and contributes to its social, cultural, and economic dynamism. Most Indian cities – although proud of their culinary lineage – tend to neglect the importance of food when it comes to urban policy and planning.

This has to do with rapid pace of urbanisation in Indian cities, with more focus on immediate infrastructural needs such as housing and transportation.
This, however, is now changing with cities working towards creating sustainable, efficient, and inclusive food systems. Rourkela in Odisha – which has a population of 6.19 lakh people – illustrates this point. It has designated shaded vending zones for vegetable and fruit vendors along sidewalks; set up open food courts in areas with high concentration of street food vendors; and launched e-cool mandis, which are mini, solar-powered cold-storage-cum sales facilities in different parts of the city for farmers and vendors, particularly women.
“We want to ensure that they don’t have to resort to distress selling, and their income increases. The e-cool mandis also help decentralise the market and boost the local economy, contributing to our sustainable development goals (SDG),” said Subhankar Mohapatra, municipal commissioner, Rourkela.
In 2022, Rourkela smart city won the Milan Pact Award in the social and economic category, for its e-cool mandi initiative. It was the only Indian city among the six winning cities worldwide. In 2021, Rourkela smart city also won the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge for empowering female food vendors, reducing food waste, and increasing access to fresh foods.
Savouring Change
Other cities such as Panaji, Indore, Jabalpur, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Ujjain, are also taking similar initiatives. This shift in approach is quite significant as most Indian cities do not have a comprehensive food policy.
These initiatives to streamline the food system include massive drives to license and register food businesses, redevelopment of food streets, promotion of healthier food options, and addressing the issue of food waste by redistributing surplus food to vulnerable communities.
But first, what is a food system?
It is a network of activities, processes, and infrastructure, which governs production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food from farm to table.
Indore, known for its innovative urban initiatives, has successfully transformed Chappan Dukan – its famous food street – from an unhygienic and congested space to a smart food street at a cost of ₹4 crore. Located in New Palasia, it is a street with 56 shops, and it is known for diverse dishes such as chaat, bhutte ka kees (corn-based dish), and poha.
The redevelopment of Chappan Dukan was carried out in 2020 by Indore Smart City. “This street has emerged as a vibrant cultural hub where regular performances take place. It is now a no-traffic and no-waste zone. As a result, footfall has increased ten-fold in the past three years,” said Divyank Singh, CEO of Indore Smart City. All 56 food stores in Chappan Dukan have been licensed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Jabalpur is another city that has received international acclaim for its urban initiatives. In October, the city, along with Istanbul in Turkey, became the only city from Eurasia and southwest Asia region, to be included in the 13-member steering committee of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP).
MUFPP is a global initiative that brings cities together in a voluntary commitment to promote sustainable and healthy food systems. The cities that sign this pact pledge to address food security, reduce waste, and support local economies.
Since 2021, Jabalpur has achieved a significant increase in licenses and registration for food businesses, establishment of food hubs, implementation of food safety initiatives, introduction of hygiene ratings for food establishments, and creation of ‘eat right campuses.’
In a bid to promote fitness and healthy eating, Jabalpur came up with Fit Badda, a mascot for ‘Eat Smart Jabalpur’ in 2021 and saw registration of approximately 6,207 street food vendors who participated in the program.
“Our initiatives are an example of how citizens, authorities, and food vendors can work together to enhance a city’s food environment,” said Sambhav Ayachi, assistant commissioner, Jabalpur municipal corporation.
Innovation on the Plate
The ‘Eat Smart Cities Challenge,’ launched in 2021 by the Smart Cities Mission, in collaboration with FSSAI, has been a catalyst for many cities to reinvent their food cultures. The challenge encouraged Smart Cities to develop a plan for creating a healthy, safe, and sustainable food environment supported by institutional, physical, social, and economic infrastructure.
“Food, air, and water are often overlooked in city planning. However, viewing cities through the lens of food opens numerous opportunities for developing institutional, social, and economic infrastructures that prioritise the health and well-being of citizens by ensuring access to safe, healthy, and environmentally sustainable food,” said Kunal Kumar, joint secretary & mission director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
The challenge marked a pivotal shift which has drawn attention to urban food issues, said Pawan Agarwal, former CEO of FSSAI, and founder and chief executive, Food Future Foundation, a Delhi-based non-profit that works towards bridging the gap between food policy and urban planning.
“In Indian cities, food policy integration has frequently been overlooked in favour of other urban development agendas, resulting in missed opportunities to bolster city resilience and improve the well-being of inhabitants. While this initiative marks a positive beginning, there is a need for a deeper integration of food policies in Indian urban planning,” said Agarwal.
He said that the main challenges in developing a universal Indian urban food policy are diverse demographics, infrastructural constraints that affect food distribution, and fragmented policymaking. “I believe that including urban food environments as a criterion in the Smart Cities rankings would incentivise cities to integrate food policies more effectively. This strategy would align food security with urban developmental objectives,” said Agarwal.
A taste of the city
Meanwhile, Akash Hingorani, a Delhi-based urban designer, said that a city’s resilience plan must include local urban farming. “Cities such as London and Berlin actively promote allotment gardens in unused areas,” he said. An allotment garden is a small plot of land, varying in size from a few square meters to more extensive spaces, allotted by local authorities to individuals or communities, for cultivation.
While this concept is yet to take off in Indian cities, many cities are taking similar initiatives. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai, for instance, has planned to establish ‘urban rooftop farms’ at 250 public schools. “This urban farming project aims to produce sufficient vegetables to be included in midday meals for students in these schools. We are exploring various options, such as portable farms and vertical farms,” said a BMC official.
Food culture not only significantly influences how individuals perceive, experience and engage with a city but is also deeply intertwined with a city’s identity. Hingorani pointed out that food and public spaces are intricately connected.
Meanwhile, Aditya Sharma, writer, said, “The evolution of a city’s culinary scene is also intertwined with its history. Traditional recipes, cooking techniques, and food rituals are passed down through generations. Take, for instance, Karim’s in Old Delhi and Tunde Kebabi in Lucknow. Indian cities have made a good beginning by focusing on food policies. They should work to preserve and document their rich cuisines.”

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Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.