# Addressing Sustainability within Public Procurement of Food: A Systematic Literature Review
## 3 Results
### Connecting Sustainability to Focus Words
#### 3.3.3 Framing Economic Sustainability  
As illustrated in Figure 11, locally procured food was identified as the most prominent focus for studies on economic sustainability. [PERSON], et al. [92] argue that local, regional, as well as the national economy could be supported by increasing purchases of local produce. Several of the reviewed articles suggest that supporting local farmers would benefit local economies. As such, ensuring that local farmers, and local SMEs are included in public purchasing is proposed to stimulate the market, increase job opportunities, and ensure steady income locally, see e.g., [44; 62; 93]. This was also suggested to reduce inequalities in the rural communities and help preserve local cultural values while also contributing to equity, see e.g., [55; 86; 94; 95]. Nonetheless, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [28] state that more stable, larger suppliers may be preferred due to risks. This was also highlighted as important in Brazilian food procurement programs, which take a systemic approach to transform agriculture and simultaneously benefit stakeholders along the supply chain [96]; once again also discussed to provide benefits such as the well-being and health of the local population, especially in deprived areas [28]. Growth was identified as a reoccurring word for economic sustainability in the reviewed literature. However, the context in which it is used was often related to the power relations between procuring authorities and stakeholders in the supply chain. As such, it was often associated with the growth of small producers and SMEs by using public procurement as a policy instrument to support more sustainable agricultural practices. A number of articles investigate the economic impacts of solely procuring organic food. These studies investigate the technical challenges of how to increase the use of organic products and how to ensure their economic viability by reducing purchase prices, see e.g., [49; 86; 93; 97; 98]. Several articles found that small farmers turn to organic farming as an option to increase income, see e.g., [38; 56; 61; 72; 99; 100]. Reducing waste was identified as a contributor to reduced environmental pressure as previously mentioned, but was also associated with cost savings [29; 101]. As mentioned in [PERSON] and [PERSON] [58], the economic capacity of, e.g., kitchen staff, can have a large influence on the amount of waste. Furthermore, taking actions to valorize waste was also identified to contribute to economic sustainability, see, e.g., [18; 74]. The use of the focus word 'livelihood' was used primarily to describe economic sustainability. According to the reviewed literature, livelihood could be determined by costs and the ability to pay, the use of subsidies, governmental support, and support from NGOs [100; 102]. Other important economic aspects related to livelihood included employment rates, reduction of poverty, the possibility to be self-sufficient (regarding supplies of seeds) [52; 92]. [PERSON] et al. [52] claim that a sustainable livelihood in rural areas for farmers is accomplished by ensuring that they receive the resources needed to make a living, including income and fair pricing on their products. The problem with fluctuating prices could be addressed with demands for price guarantees for goods secured through public procurement [103; 104]. Other prominent focus words, including health, seasonal, and quality, were also associated with economic sustainability. Health, in the context of economic sustainability, was associated with reduced costs for health care due to better health, see e.g., [17; 18; 52; 55; 105]. The most frequent way to address better human health through food was, as mentioned above, to procure organic products. It was suggested that cost savings for the procurer could be achieved, not only by cheaper products but through procuring a larger share of  
Figure 11: Focus words figuring in the context of economic sustainability.