Procurement and consumption of local and organic food in the catering of a rural town

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the transformation towards consuming local and organic food (LOF) in the catering of a rural town. Product development cooperation, procurement, consumption, and prices are illustrated. Achieved local, social and environmental benefits are depicted. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical framework includes the EU's strategy for corporate social responsibility concerning public procurement. Recent research on LOF and its procurement are summarized. The sources for empirical data included web pages depicting the case town and an interviewee, namely the food service manager. Findings – The results indicated that in 2011 local food products amounted to 46 per cent, whereas organic food products accounted for 14 per cent of the food procurement in the case town school's catering. The percentage of local food products in the whole town's catering amounted to 13. Benefits for the local community included money supporting the local economy, which thus facilitated the producers developing their businesses. However, higher prices were paid. Social benefits entailed that LOF contains the least amount of additives possible and LOF also advocates local food culture. Environmental benefits included, e.g. the following aspects: protecting the natural environment; decreasing packaging and bio waste; and diminished consuming water and energy. Practical implications – Increasing consumption of LOF required the following actions: integrating LOF into the town's strategy; allocating extra resources; training catering personnel; developing products with producers; and organising local procurement procedures. Originality/value – The results offer ideas for small municipalities how to increase the consumption of LOF gradually, and thus achieve benefits for the local community. The results may interest also those selling-in to that market sector.