A Local Gap in Sustainable Food Procurement: Organic Vegetables in Berlin’s School Meals

Charis Braun,Vera Bitsch,Meike Rombach,Anna Häring

doi:10.3390/su10114245

Charis Braun, Vera Bitsch + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114245

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Abstract

Organic and local food plays an important role in the discussion of sustainable public procurement for school catering services. The present study investigates the value chain supplying school catering with organic produce, using the organic vegetable industry in the Berlin-Brandenburg region in Germany as an example. The qualitative case study employs a structuration theory approach to explore value chain actors’ perspectives and their practices. Data is collected by conducting 14 in-depth interviews with actors on different supply chain levels (farming, wholesale, and catering) and analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis. The results suggest that, while organic food is generally important in school catering in Berlin, locally produced organic vegetables play only a minor role. A constraining factor is the lack of incentives for the use of locally produced organic food in the procurement guidelines, combined with a very limited budget for sourcing. Also, there are no preprocessing facilities in the region, while work organization in school catering services depends heavily on preprocessed food. From a farmers’ perspective, focusing on process grade vegetables is rarely a common marketing strategy.

Highlights

Organic and local food plays an important role in the discussion of sustainable school catering systems
The present study investigates the value chain supplying school catering with organic produce, using the organic vegetable industry in the Berlin-Brandenburg region in Germany as an example
The results suggest that, while organic food is generally important in school catering in Berlin, locally produced organic vegetables play only a minor role

Summary

Introduction

Organic and local food plays an important role in the discussion of sustainable school catering systems. With the European Union’s move towards green public procurement, a number of regions across Europe have introduced public procurement policies that prioritize the use of organic food in school meals [1,2,3]. Sustainable procurement policies that prioritize local and organic foods aim to support public health and food literacy, preserving the environment, and stimulating local economies [4,5]. Due to differences in national policy, food cultures, and school food systems, the concrete implementation of sustainable procurement practices varies greatly between European countries as well as between regions within countries [1,6]. Meals are generally provided by private catering services on contracts that are awarded in individual per-school tendering processes for about four-year terms [8]

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