The nature of food insecurity is changing in both scope and geography, so that it is now a concern for both the global north as well as the developing countries which it has traditionally been associated with. Food security is now being recognised by academic, private and public realms alike, as sitting at the nexus of food debates: encompassing debates around the sustainability implications of current and proposed food systems; malnutrition, hunger, mal-consumption and obesity, and the ability of rural landscapes to support the nutritional needs of an ever urbanising growing population. This research looks at how the reinterpretations of these issues has resulted in innovative urban and regional governance mechanisms such as urban food strategies and food policy councils. Taking an interpretive policy analysis approach, these governance networks and their associated documents, strategies and projects will be investigated to see what real and potential contributions to local and global food security they [can] make.