When Faith Meets Food: Lessons from the Food Culture Alliance Indonesia's Collaboration with Catholic Institutions

There is something quietly powerful about institutions that have spent centuries mastering the art of storytelling. Long before food systems became a policy agenda, religious communities were already doing something that nutrition programmes have long struggled to achieve: making people feel something about what they consume, share, and value.

Aligning Food Systems with Net Zero Ambition through Sub-National Food and Nutrition Action Plan

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), in collaboration with the Food and Land Use Coalition Indonesia (KSPL), officially launched its support for the development of the Regional Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Based on Local Resources (RAD-PG BPSDL) in Trenggalek Regency. The two-day inception meeting marked a critical step toward building a more resilient, nutritious, and sustainable local food system

Nourishing Progress: Three Years of Action on WHA76.19. Accelerating Efforts to Prevent Micronutrient Deficiencies and Their Consequences Through Safe and Effective Food Fortification

- 15/05/2026

In May 2023, every Member State at the World Health Assembly resolved to accelerate safe and effective foodfortification. Nourishing Progress highlights meaningful progress, growing momentum and emerging opportunities since the resolution's adoption, and the growing coalition of governments, industry, patient associations, and health professionals driving this agenda forward. Anchored in a landmark Lancet Global Health analysis modeling the current and potential impact of large-scale food fortification programs, the report celebrates the progress made since the 2023 WHA resolution and outlines the growing global momentum towards transformative impact.

Beyond Safety Gear: Nutrition Protects Workers

- 14/05/2026

Chemical exposure is a growing occupational health concern as industrialization and technological change increase workers’ contact with hazardous substances. While occupational safety and health frameworks focus on managing exposure, they do not fully address chemicals that accumulate in the body and weaken immune function. Chemical exposure and poor nutrition can reinforce each other, increasing vulnerability to illness Integrating workforce nutrition into chemical risk management strengthens resilience, supports immunity, and provides an additional layer of protection for workers.

How Cleaner Salt Production in Tanga Is Improving Nutrition Outcomes

When you ask families in Tanga what salt means to them, the answer is often simple: “It’s something we cook with every day.” Yet few realise that the quality of that salt; its purity, safety, and level of iodization; directly affects the health of households, particularly children and pregnant women. For years, salt producers in Tongoni and Masiwani worked with unlined pans, contaminated crystals, and unpredictable yields. Salt was often sold locally without consistent iodization, leaving families vulnerable to iodine deficiency, which contributes to goiter, impaired development, and weakened immunity. Today, a different story is unfolding. Improvements in infrastructure, training, and coordination, supported by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), are transforming production from low-quality, non-iodized salt to safer, cleaner, and more reliable salt that strengthens household nutrition.

Accelerating Food Systems Transformation Across Asia - Key tools and selected cases

- 27/03/2026

This paper provides brief descriptions of eight key tools available to support national and sub-national transformation of food systems. Produced in advance of the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Transformation Forum 2026, descriptions and cases provided focus on the Asia region.

GAIN Working Paper n°69: Supporting Nutrition to Foster Staff Wellbeing

- 20/04/2026

Many adults spend most of their waking hours at the workplace, making the latter a strategic, yet underappreciated, environment for health and well-being interventions. In the context of food systems, an impactful change that can be fostered through workplaces is improved nutrition through workforce nutrition (WFN) programmes. However, the process of gaining support for such programmes and the potential for having employers lead their design and uptake remain underexamined.

GAIN Working Paper n°68: Youth Collective Action as a Catalyst for Food System Transformation

- 08/04/2026

Young people represent a critical yet underutilised force in transforming food systems. By actively engaging youth in transformation processes, they can co-lead initiatives, shape agendas, and influence policymakers to address their priorities and make decision-making more inclusive. Collective action is a powerful mechanism through which young people organise around shared food systems priorities to generate sustained pressure for policy change while building capacity for long-term engagement in governance processes. However, despite the growing visibility of youth-led movements, the pathways through which young people’s collective voices shape and become institutionalised within national food and nutrition policies remain underexamined, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

GAIN Working Paper n°67: Building Youth Leadership For Food Systems Transformation

- 08/04/2026

Globally, the youth population is rapidly growing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where food systems are central to livelihoods and significantly influence nutritional outcomes. Despite this, young people remain underrepresented in food systems policy and decision-making processes. Addressing this gap requires youth leadership programmes that integrate systems thinking, cross-sectoral collaboration, and experiential learning to better prepare young people for meaningful engagement in food systems transformation. This case study explores how a youth leadership programme implemented in Arusha, Tanzania, enhanced young people’s ability to influence food policy processes, advocate for inclusive reforms, and drive meaningful change in their communities.