In the European funded research project FOODLINKS an analysis of 19 cases of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) was carried out. A special focus was on their contribution to health and sustainability, also with a focus on organic supply chains. These potential contributions were identified (based on case analysis and literature): Health & wellbeing: increased consumer knowledge, possibly leading to healthier diets, but not always fully reached. Environmental: minimised use of resources such as fossil fuel or packaging, and/or use of less polluting methods of production (e.g. organic farming); significant variation between SFSCs. Social: better ensuring fairness and trust in many SFSCs; more social inclusion of people; potential to revitalise local communities. Economic: Reduction of economic uncertainties, in particular for small and medium farms; partially creation of new jobs. In sum the degree of sustainability varies among different types of SFSCs, their products, locations, etc. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) can act as a driver of change and a method to increase sustainability; therefore they are or should be of growing interest to policy makers
