INCREASING ORGANIC FOOD IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS NAT seminar, Zwolle 12 March 2015 Nicola Catellani

THE CONTEXT - SERN  A BILATERAL NETWORK  ACTIVE SINCE 2005  55 MEMBERS 28 Swedish Members 27 Italian Members 47 Local and Regional Authorities 8 Non public actors 5 THEMATIC AREAS Education Social Inclusion Energy and Environment Local/Regional development Employment policies

THE PROJECT  Lenght 2 years( )  142 Participants in the activites  8 partners  Co-funding of the EU about €

OBJECTIVES  1. Raise Awareness among the target groups of the project;  1. Children (local activities):  2. Families (local activities):  3. Kitchen staff (transnational activities):  4. Political represents (local and transnational activities)  5. producers (local and transnational activities):  2. Identify solutions to increase the percentage of organic food in the schools;  3. Identify solutions to facilitate the matching between demand (public entities) and supply (producers)  4. Create a network among involved actors in a long term perspective

Non acceptance of the meal Excessive costs Scarce attention to the products and their origin Excessive wastes Lack of education on the principles of correct nutrition Lack of respect for the health and the environment

APPROACH Cost reduction Increase in amount organic food served Lowerenvironmental impact Creation of local organic production chain Education on organic food and the quality of the products Cost analysis and environmental impact analysis Supply system of organic products

CONVENTIONAL PRODUCTORGANIC PRODUCT 1)C02 production emissions 2)C02 trasport emissions 3)The distance covered by the food. 4)Amount of pesticides 1)C02 production emissions 2)C02 trasport emissions 3)The distance covered by the food. 4)Amount of pesticides AGGREGATED INDICATOR

ACTIVITIES AND METHODS  Engagement of representatives of the target groups  Focus on two main thematic areas  Education  Environmental Impact/Creation of the local supply chain  Local Activities: Testing of practices across the partnership and involvement of local stakeholders

RESULTS OF THE PROJECT Exchange and transfer of good practice among the partners; Identification of common guidelines for increasing organic food in schools

EDUCATION GROUP 1. Active engagement and awareness raising among the children (activities with and about food) 2. Active engagement of the parents 3. Identification of the opinions of the children 4. Active role of the teachers with particular attention to the themes of nutrition and environment 5. Networking between different actors active in the sector of education

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES/ LOCAL PRODUCTION CHAIN 1. Adjustment of the menu 2. Investment of saved resources in organic products 3. Improvement of waste management 4. Improvement of the procurement practices (favoring the products of the local production chain)

ELEMENTS OF REFLECTION  Increasing organic food in schools can be the driver of a broader strategy that involves environmental, economic and educational issues;  Organic and locally produced food combined with adpated menus and awareness raisinng processes are the main ingredients of a succesful recipe emerged from the project  Teamwork and networking is key success factor at local level

Thank you for your attention!