Public kitchen menu substitutions increase organic share and school meal sustainability at equal cost

Abstract

Organic agriculture is a worthy alternative to conventional methods, driving food systems toward more sustainable food with proven health benefits. Many authorities recommend and governments set targets for organic production and consumption. Public food procurement plays an important role in this development process. This is especially true in Finland where, following the principles of the Nordic welfare model, society offers free school meals to all students. The Finnish government has set a goal for year 2020 to triple organic consumption in public kitchens. So far, the use of organic ingredients in professional kitchens has been low, partly because of unstandardized quality and high prices. Because municipalities are not predicted to allocate a larger share from their budget to school meals, another way must be found to increase the organic share and sustainability of the school meals. The research question is, whether it is possible to increase the share of organic ingredients and, at the same time, reduce or maintain the same ingredient costs. This study modified an existing school menu into three versions, where some of the meat dishes were replaced by lacto-vegetarian dishes. The share of organic ingredients was increased in all three versions, first to 10% and then to 20%. There was an increase of cost in all menu versions when the organic share increased, but the increase in cost, when replacing meat with lacto-vegetarian dishes, started only when half of the meat dishes were replaced. A fourth menu version was created using the largest share of lacto-vegetarian dishes and a 20% share of organic ingredients, and its recipes were engineered for a smaller share of the most expensive ingredients. After that, the cost of the fourth menu did not differ significantly from the cost of the original menu. Menu changes to more lacto-vegetarian dishes should happen gradually, to prevent disturbing students. School meals are an important part of a welfare state and with food education, the ideas of sustainable eating can reach the whole society.