Agenda-setting in local food environment policy: A comparative Multiple Streams Analysis of the City Deal network in the Netherlands

• A comparative MSF study of food policy agenda-setting shaped in a policy network. • Framing food environment issues beyond health increased their agenda status. • Food strategies were more likely with consistent views on the role of municipality. • Perceived paternalism fueled political caution in zoning policy agenda-setting. • Being in a policy network helped place and keep food policies on the agenda. Little is known about the processes through which local food environment policies gain a place on municipal policy agendas. This study examines why some municipalities within the Dutch City Deal: Healthy and Sustainable Food Environment succeed in placing food strategies and food environmental zoning policies on the agenda. Guided by Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and informed by interviews with 14 policymakers and policy documents from ten municipalities, we conducted a qualitative comparative case study focusing on agenda-setting windows related to food strategies and zoning policies across ten Dutch municipalities. Six municipalities adopted local food strategies, framing obesity, health inequalities, unsustainable food systems, and economic concerns as public policy problems linked to the food environment. Agenda-setting was enabled by committed politicians, alignment with broader health or sustainability agendas, and consistent views on the government’s role. Four municipalities without local food strategies lacked clear framing or leadership and viewed food policy as politically sensitive. Framing fast-food dominance as a threat to health, liveability, and local businesses enabled zoning policy agenda-setting in four municipalities, while legal uncertainty and paternalism concerns constrained it elsewhere. Successful agenda-setting of municipal food policies depended on strategic framing, linking food environments to broader societal goals and local priorities. Institutionalising ambitions in formal visions and structures reduced reliance on individual policy entrepreneurs. Trans-local policy networks such as the City Deal can strengthen local capacity, learning, and political commitment. Limited municipal resources, concerns about paternalism, and limited guidance for zoning policies constrained agenda-setting.