The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations set out to strengthen food resilience across six Caribbean islands through a targeted public funding program for local food production. To turn this ambition into effective action, a clearer basis was needed for prioritizing investment across very different island contexts – and for understanding where interventions could deliver the greatest impact.

Food resilience is widely discussed, but rarely defined in ways that can be measured or compared. In small island economies, local production, supply chains and resource constraints are tightly interconnected, yet vary significantly from one island to another. Without a structured approach, it becomes difficult to assess what is working, where the main constraints lie, and how public resources can be deployed most effectively.

Addressing this challenge meant translating the complexity of food systems into a clear and comparable structure. This involved identifying the key dimensions that shape how food functions within a place – from production and supply chains to the availability of land, water and energy – and understanding how these elements interact.

Greengrounds developed a framework that makes food system resilience tangible and measurable.

We structured the analysis around three interconnected dimensions – availability, accessibility and feasibility – enabling each island to be assessed in a consistent and comparable way. This made it possible to understand differences between contexts, identify trade-offs and pinpoint where interventions would be most effective. Building on this, we developed a monitoring tool linking policy instruments and public funding to measurable outcomes over time.

The project turned food system resilience from an abstract ambition into a practical tool for decision-making. It created a shared basis for understanding how food systems function across different island contexts, and where the most relevant opportunities and constraints lie. By linking policy and funding to measurable outcomes, it also strengthened the ability to prioritize investment and improve the effectiveness of public resources.