Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab

What Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab does

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (the 'UB Food Lab') is an academic research group founded in 2012 and housed within the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo. Led by Director Dr. Samina Raja and co-directed through UB's Community for Global Health Equity, the lab conducts transdisciplinary research examining how local government policy shapes equitable, healthy, and sustainable community food systems. Its work is co-produced with community organizations, urban growers, and local governments, spanning both Buffalo, NY and Global South contexts including India, Ghana, Jamaica, and Kashmir.

The lab's core technical products are two searchable policy databases — the Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies (built in partnership with RUAF) and the Growing Food Connections Local Government Policy Database for the US and Canada — alongside a growing portfolio of GIS-based analytics dashboards (e.g., food retail environment dashboards for the CHEER project). These are augmented by peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and creative educational outputs such as the 'Foraged Art Materials' zine. Underlying technology emphasizes GIS and spatial analysis rather than commercial software products, and all resources are distributed open-access via the lab's website.

The lab operates as a grant-funded academic unit rather than a commercial entity: revenue comes primarily from competitive research grants (FFAR, RWJF, USDA, FAO) and institutional support, with technical assistance provided at no cost to community advocates, planners, and local governments. Pricing is not applicable as publications and databases are free to users. Customer/mission segments include local governments, urban growers of color (via the GFPGU project with mini-grants), refugee and immigrant communities, and community-based planning organizations, with partnerships spanning FAO, RUAF, Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota, and Buffalo-area nonprofits.

Name

Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab

Legal name

Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab

Website

https://foodsystemsplanning.ap.buffalo.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The UB Food Lab is an academic research group at the University at Buffalo that studies how local government policy shapes equitable community food systems, serving local governments, urban growers of color, and community organizations through open-access policy databases and grant-funded action research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Policy Research

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Food systems planning
• Food policy research
• Community food systems
• Urban agriculture research
• Local government policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Buffalo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: Primary funding from competitive grants including Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, USDA, and institutional support from University at Buffalo. Projects include $999,680 award through FFAR's Seeding Solutions program for GFPGU project.
2. Technical Assistance and Consulting: The lab provides technical assistance to community advocates, planners, and local governments on policy and planning to create equitable food systems.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (UB Food Lab) is an academic research group that critically examines the role of local government policy in facilitating equitable, healthy, and sustainable community food systems. It maintains searchable policy databases (Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies and Growing Food Connections Local Government Policy Database), produces research publications and reports (including a major UN FAO report), and provides free technical assistance to community advocates, planners, and local governments.

Product overview

The Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (UB Food Lab) operates primarily as a research organization rather than a commercial product company. Its core offerings consist of searchable policy databases (the Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies and the Growing Food Connections Policy Database), research publications and reports including a major FAO U.N. report, and creative educational materials such as zines. These resources are freely accessible through their website and support policymakers and researchers in understanding and developing food system policies. The databases enable searches by keywords, location, language, population size, and year to find policy inspirations from around the globe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies

Quantifiable outcome

• 164-page report published by FAO for low- and middle-income countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021FAO partnered with UB to build capacity of local governments to engage in food systems planning. The Food Lab was the driving force behind a major 164-page FAO report 'Local government planning for community food systems' published in February 2021. UB began work with FAO in 2016 with an expert summit on food in the New Urban Agenda.
• RUAF-FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership on sustainable Urban Agriculture and Food Systems. RUAF collaborates with the Food Lab on the Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies, providing policy-specific inquiries and resources for international city and regional food systems. Located in Leusden, The Netherlands.
• Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA University at Buffalo Center of Excellence co-supporting the Food Lab's global work. Located at 220 Hayes Hall, Buffalo, NY. CGHE supports faculty research translation into policy and action, focusing on global food equity leaders and organizations.
• Growing Food ConnectionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA national initiative that engages in research, education, and policy to strengthen community food systems. Sponsored the special issue in Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Maintains the US/Canada policy database.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on FAO report with researchers Yeeli Mui (now faculty at Johns Hopkins) and Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah. Partner in the GFPGU project with Bloomberg American Health Initiative funding matching.
• University of MinnesotamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity research partner in the GFPGU project with Fernando Burga as co-investigator. Contributes matching funding to the FFAR award.
• Appetite For ChangecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity partner in GFPGU project, led by Michelle Horowitz and Darryl Lindsey. Minneapolis-based organization focused on food systems transformation through urban agriculture and youth development.
• Massachusetts Avenue ProjectcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity partner in GFPGU project led by Diane Picard. Buffalo-based organization supporting urban agriculture and food system change in the city.
• Grassroots Gardens of Western New YorksupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommunity partner establishing community gardens in urban Buffalo. Melissa Fratello represented the organization on Community Advisory Group for refugee food access research.
• Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit working with the Food Lab to evaluate the West Side Bazaar food entrepreneurship program and understand the role of immigrant food vendors in Buffalo's food supply chain.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Food Tank: A nonprofit think tank focused on food policy, agriculture, and sustainability issues globally. Comparable as a mission-driven food policy organization producing research and convening stakeholders, though it operates more as a media/advocacy platform than an academic research lab.

Direct peers

• Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems (Arizona State University): University-based food systems policy center housed within ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability. Conducts applied research and policy analysis on food systems, with comparable emphasis on cross-sector partnerships and government engagement.
• Growing Food Connections: A national initiative that has co-sponsored research with the UB Food Lab and maintains the US/Canada policy database. Operates as a comparable applied food policy initiative focused on local government engagement and community food systems.
• RUAF Foundation: International foundation based in the Netherlands focused on urban agriculture and city-region food systems. Already a formal partner of the UB Food Lab on the Global Database for City and Regional Food Policies, with highly overlapping mission and global network.
• Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future: A university-based food systems research center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Directly comparable to the UB Food Lab in mission (food policy research, equity, and community engagement) and has formally collaborated with the lab on the FAO report and GFPGU project.
• Berkeley Food Institute: UC Berkeley's interdisciplinary food systems research and policy center. Operates with a similar model of academic researchers producing policy-relevant food systems scholarship with community partners, making it a strong functional peer in the food policy research space.
• Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy: A leading graduate school at Tufts University focused on nutrition and food policy research, with active programs on food systems, agricultural policy, and community nutrition. Comparable as an academic hub producing food policy research that informs local and national government action.
• CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute: An applied research center at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health focused on urban food policy in New York City and beyond. Comparable in scale, mission, and emphasis on local government policy and equity, and operates in the same New York regional ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• World Resources Institute (WRI) Food Program: A large, established global research organization with a substantive food and agriculture program. Comparable in producing policy research and tools for governments, though it operates at much greater scale and across many sustainability domains beyond food.
• Chicago Council on Global Affairs – Food and Agriculture Program: Policy research program within a major foreign affairs institution producing research and convenings on global food and agriculture policy. Comparable as a food policy research entity that engages governments and multilaterals, though broader in geopolitical scope than the UB Food Lab.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/buffalo-food-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab