Hand in hand to quality nutrition

Duration

from 01.10.2018 to 30.09.2020

Area

Countryside

Description

The purpose of the project is to create the conditions for the establishment of an effective system of local sustainable supply (especially of public institutions) with local food providers and producers and thus the creation of short supply chains. The project activities are being addressed in a holistic way, taking into account the existing supply of local providers and the potential for increasing the supply and needs of end consumers.

First of all, we address public institutions (educational, health, social care) who have a constant need for quality food and whose users are among the most vulnerable groups (children, the sick, the elderly). In all areas of the partnership, we find that we are facing similar obstacles that need to be overcome or eliminated. In order to remove the obstacles, it is primarily necessary to actively work on the side of both local providers and end users (with a focus on public institutions).

Public establishments already include local food on their menus, but in most cases, these are small quantities compared to numerous options available. The National Institute of Public Health in the 2016 Expert Nutrition Monitoring Report finds that, on average, most establishments manage to procure between 5% and 10% of organic foods and between 10% and 40% of local foods over the entire order.

Most often they succeed in sourcing these foods directly from farmers, followed by cooperatives, trading systems and industry. The most frequently cited problems with regard to the integration of locally grown foods are:

  • poor response from local providers,
  • prohibitive price,
  • small food supply,
  • small size of establishments,
  • tendering without open lots,
  • problems with delivery of goods