Advancing Sustainable Food Systems through Short Food Supply Chains: Insights from Slovenia

Short food supply chains are an innovative sustainable approach emerging to address global food supply challenges by promoting closer relationships between producers and consumers, minimizing environmental impacts, and enhancing rural resilience. This is the first study to systematically examine the implementation of short food supply chains in Slovenia, investigating good practices, stakeholder challenges, and specific educational needs relevant to developing targeted capacity-building initiatives. Conducted within the framework of the Erasmus+ project Food Improviders, the research applies a quantitative cross-sectional design based on an online survey of Slovenian food producers.

The findings indicate that short food supply chains in Slovenia are predominantly characterized by direct sales, participation in local farmers’ markets, and increasing use of national and European-level quality assurance schemes. However, significant barriers persist, including limited regulatory support, inconsistent enforcement of food hygiene regulations, and infrastructural constraints such as poor digital connectivity. Producers expressed a strong interest in further training, especially in food safety, marketing, and knowledge-sharing on best practices, with a preference for blended learning approaches, combining occasional in-person workshops with digital modules, and identified one to two trainings per year as optimal.

To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study of its kind conducted in Slovenia. It identifies priority areas for future development, including policy alignment, infrastructural investment, and the design of inclusive educational programs. The findings have broader implications for advancing sustainable food systems across Europe.