This article examines how local value chains and short food supply chains can support the empowerment of small producers and contribute to more sustainable food systems in the Western Balkans. The analysis is based on qualitative evidence from a participatory approach on sustainable food systems, complemented by selected European practice examples, including the Polish Village e-box model, La Ruche qui dit Oui!/The Food Assembly in France, Campagna Amica in Italy, and the Open Food Network. The article argues that small producers in the Western Balkans often possess products with strong quality, authenticity and territorial identity, but remain constrained by fragmented production, weak bargaining power, limited logistics, insufficient processing capacity, restricted access to finance and weak advisory support. Local value chains and short food supply chains can address these constraints by reducing unnecessary intermediation, strengthening producer-consumer trust, improving market access and retaining more value in rural territories. However, their impact is not automatic. They require cooperation, shared infrastructure, branding, advisory services, proportionate regulation and supportive public policy. The article concludes that sustainable food system transformation in the Western Balkans should place small producers at the centre of policy design as active economic actors and not only as vulnerable beneficiaries.