The school meal system: analysis of calls for tender as a tool for improving quality

The quality of school meals is a very complex issue. Call for tenders are a key instrument impacting food and meal quality

The footprint of organic farms. Some ecological indicators to evaluate it Department of Food crops – State University of Milan

Agro-ecological indicators are a tool which provides an agile evaluation of the ecological footprint of a farm. This paper analyses the preliminary results of a survey in which 7 agro-ecological indicators were calculated for 81 organic farms in the region of Lombardy in the northern part of Italy. The indicators chosen (all indicators of State) are: hedges and rows, energy input, energy output, energy output/input ratio, N balance, P2O5 balance, works unit per hectare. The preliminary results suggest that these indicators allow to discriminate between different farms on the basis of the productive orientation (cropping classes). In perspective, the use of indicators may enable farmers to improve the management of their farm, evaluating the ecological footprint in order to reduce it gradually

Providing organic food for millions of Italian pupils. How do we make it?

Italy has successfully improved the quality of school meals over the last decade. Actors from policy and public administration put emphasis especially on the quality of the used products; they should whenever possible come from controlled and certified production. In this paper the focus is on organic products. This paper analyses three crucial aspects of the procurement of high quality school food: a) strengths and weaknesses of organic supply chains in the perspective of producers and caterers; b) call for tenders being used as a key instrument by municipalities, being in charge of school food procurement, in order to influence the quality of school food; and c) best practice cases of municipal school food systems which combine supply chains on the one hand and municipalities and their activities on the other hand. The preliminary results suggest that an integrated approach is needed for high quality school meals. Various stakeholders should be brought together, to discuss their demands and increase the understandin

School catering supply chains: study on 5 cases

This study presents accurate data on the school catering systems of five different municipalities which decided to invest on service quality and sustainable development. The aim is to provide a compendium to be considered by other local authorities and then used as an educational tool for drafting new templates for tender specifications. Regional laws as drivers for promoting organic consumption in school canteens and waste reduction through self service systems are two examples of interesting models for sustainable school food catering. This work does not present a unique best practice model but constellations of reference models for each different situation: in such way each municipality can consult the most fit case study and search the best solution according to specific variables

Organising supply chains of organic products for Italian school meals - The case of the province and of the city of Piacenza

The paper is part of the proceedings of an iPOPY seminar. The authors describe, how supply chains of organic school food might be organised in a sustainable way in order to serve high quality food to pupils. They present a best practice case of controlled food chains (filiera controllata) from Italy, the European champion of organic school food. From the province and the city of Piacenza in the region of Emilia-Romagna, we can learn a lot about a short and certified organic food-chain, a wide range of regional and organic products provided through a shared logistic organisation among local partners, and specific tender procedures

Main constraints in developing public organic procurement

The present study investigates how to increase and improve school catering supply chains, to understand hindering factors and their perception in order to reveal drivers and constraints for POP. These include policy implementation instruments, changed values and attitudes, healthy nutrition policies, supply chain bottle necks, premium prices (to producers), successful procurement strategies and certification procedures. This work is based on a two-step survey concerning the Italian school food service system. Initially questionnaires were submitted to a qualified group of 50 producers and 50 caterers (managers of national and international companies of food service for school, local administrators who manage food services for the schools). The results of the questionnaires have subsequently been the basis to plan in-depth interviews with few decision makers who could represent both caterers and producers. The aim of this second step being to view how identified problems could be solved. The results show how the understanding and the acceptance of the organic food concept among the catering staff is crucial for the degree of success in each step of public organic procurement. The introduction of organic food in serving outlets needs appropriate support (such as qualification of key actors and a specific financial support). Other key aspects in this regard are laws and regulations promoting the procurement of quality food, policy interventions tackling more than one aspect of the problem, education programs, calls for tenders, negotiated procurement contracts and quality standards

Organic and conventional public food procurement for youth in Italy

This report describes the political organisation and policies about public organic procurement in Italy, especially within school catering, and how organic products are utilized in this sector. The report is produced within the project “innovative Public Organic food Procurement for Youth”, iPOPY, and is a revised version of a preliminary report published in the same report series in 2008. Organic and otherwise typical and certified food is supported by several Italian regions by regulations and guidelines demanding that municipalities must prioritize such food in their calls for tenders. This has contributed to make Italy a leading public consumer of organic food, serving about 1 million dishes of school food per day with at least some organic ingredients. In total, about 40% of the food consumed in Italian schools is organic, and 36% from otherwise certified agriculture (local speciality, integrated or fair trade). On full length school days, all pupils are served a warm meal with two dishes, commonly also a desert. The average payment is 3.86 Euro. Future challenges for the Italian school meals with their high share of organic food are to reduce the high amounts of food waste, partly incurred by the current system of food serving where all pupils get equal portions, served at a table. Further, non-food costs are a challenge, as they constitute 70 % of the total food costs. Means to ensure that municipalities and caterers follow the regional guidelines are also required, as well as support for the municipalities to design efficient calls for tenders. The communication about organic food in schools, e.g. as a part of the education, should be strengthened to increase the pupil’s understanding of the benefits of this farming practice for the environment

Differences between real and perceived quality among users of school catering – survey on 40 Italian schools

This report investigates how food quality is perceived in school canteens and to what extent this perception, influencing public opinion about the catering service quality, reflects the real quality of served meals. The objective of this work is therefore to investigate the relationships between real and perceived quality of meals in the sustainable school catering sector. The study has been built upon a survey made over a sample of 7.500 catering service users (about 6.500 pupils and 1.000 adults) concerning the knowledge of quality/sustainability of canteen products, non-food aspects of the service (e.g.: staff management, canteen environment), the satisfaction level and possible/necessary improvements. In the present work it emerges a satisfactory knowledge level towards both taste aspects of canteen food and added-value food quality components (organic, short chain, seasonal, fair-trade, food miles). Nevertheless there is a significant lack of information exchange causing a unfruitful gap between service management and service users; as users are not enough aware of the key characteristics of the canteen service, educational programs and a participatory approach management should be implemented

Organic and conventional public food procurement for youth in Italy

Political organisation and policies about school catering and public organic procurement in Italy. The report is produced within the project ―innovative Public Organic food Procurement for Youth‖, iPOPY, and will be updated and revised during the project period (2007-2010)

iPOPY – innovative Public Organic food Procurement for Youth. School meals – and more!

One of eight pilot projects in the European CORE Organic programme, innovative Public Organic food Procurement for Youth, (iPOPY) will study efficient ways of implementing organic food in public serving outlets for young people (2007-10). By analysing practical cases of school meal systems and other food serving outlets for youth, we will identify hindrances and promoting factors in the participating countries (Denmark, Finland, Italy and Norway). Policies, supply chains, certification systems, the young consumers’ perception and participation, and health effects of implementation of organic policies and menus are focussed in iPOPY. The main aim is to suggest efficient policies and comprehensive strategies to increase the consumption of organic food among young consumers in a public setting, and fostering sustainable nutrition. Interdisciplinary project tools under development will be presented along with the first project results, which will be available by June 2008