| This paper examines the contributions of cooperatives to food security by systematically reviewing evidence from 36 studies published over the past decade. The analysis highlights cooperatives’ roles across six dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilization, stability, sustainability, and agency. Findings reveal that cooperatives enhance access to resources, markets, and credit; promote sustainable agricultural practices; strengthen resilience to economic and climatic shocks; and foster social equity, However, critical gaps remain, including a disproportionate focus on household-level food security over macro level perspectives, limited attention to utilization and agency dimensions, and underexplored contributions of nonagricultural cooperatives. This review underscores the need for future research to address these gaps using robust theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. Comparative and multi-country analyses are also recommended to identify scalable best practices and provide an extended understanding of the transformative potential of cooperatives in achieving sustainable and equitable food security. |