Brazil has been widely lauded for the development of its agricultural sector, its policies against hunger, and its support of family farming. Yet, the future of small-scale family farmers remains uncertain. In this paper, we question whether food system localization facilitates the integration of small-scale family farmers into food governance processes in Porto Alegre, Brazil. To answer this, we present the City Region Food System (CRFS) as a conceptual approach to explore the relationship between food systems localization and enhanced participation of small-scale family farmers into food governance. After introducing the case study of local food in Porto Alegre, we shed light on key structural inequalities (e.g. location and capacity to organize) that limit family farmers' participation in local food practices, as well as influence their involvement in food governance. We then examine linkages between local food policy efforts and family farmers' praxis, attempting to discern mismatches and related implications for the development of an inclusive CRFS. We argue that systematization of local food practices (e.g. regulation and standardization of products) within the city region represents a double-edged sword as it might translate into a decrease in farmers' autonomy and ownership of local initiatives but could also burden them with regulations not fit for purpose. In conclusion, we advance that a CRFS approach to planning can help to address structural inequalities and power asymmetries in local food governance only if informed by local dynamics and based on context sensitive mechanisms for participatory governance incorporating a variety of small-scale family farmers (and other stakeholders).