Abstract Body

The COVID 19 pandemic has shaped the way citizens perceive their food environment, catalyzing the surge of innovative solutions that answer these new perspectives.

In Germany, the crisis has led to a shift in consumption and eating habits, increasing the demand for regionally produced and organic products and those made under standards of animal welfare, climate, and biodiversity protection.

As a result, many existing alternative food systems solutions (e.g., community-supported agriculture and food assemblies) enjoyed high reactivation and great acceptance at the same time novel initiatives popped-up to supply the demand for these products, such as a boost in e-commerce, new forms of food distribution, and an increase in at-home food production.

Through an exploratory analysis, this study aims to understand better how urban food systems used their potential for innovations and responded to the current health crisis and the lessons learned to promote and enhance more resilient and sustainable urban food systems in the Cologne-Bonn region.