To promote the consumption of organic and sustainable products for the environment, the Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has set up a fund to reduce the costs borne by the beneficiaries of the organic school canteen service and to implement information and promotion initiatives. in schools.
The organic canteens will be at the center of a panel of the Food Journalism Festival.
School canteens play a crucial role in the nutritional education of new generations and for this reason they can play a strategic role both for public administrations and for families, as an investment choice in children's health and the environment, even more so if linked to the Green Deal strategy which, among other actions, also includes making food systems more sustainable.
The ministerial fund is worth a total of 5 million euros, of which 86% to reimburse the contracting authorities on the basis of the organic meals administered and 14% for the implementation of information and communication activities on the subject.
In order to manage the part of the fund destined to Piedmont (about 100.000 euros in total for the year 2020/2021) and given the growing interest and weight for the organic sector in Piedmont, the Agriculture and Food Directorate of the Piedmont Region and Unioncamere Piemonte signed a collaboration agreement in March 2020.
The collaboration aims to enhance the synergy between the Regional Agriculture and Food Department and the experience gained in the field of school information by the network of Chambers of Commerce which, for several years now, on behalf of the Ministry, have carried out the “School milk” project. To achieve this goal, Unioncamere Piemonte avails itself of the activity of the Chemical Laboratory of the Turin Chamber of Commerce, an instrumental body specialized in the global management of problems relating to food safety, nutrition, analysis and labeling of food products.
The pandemic prevented the implementation of some information and communication activities "in the field" planned for 2020 but in the same year one was created front office on line named BioDesk, to provide information of first orientation to municipal administrations, schools and subjects providing school canteen service, relating to the requirements, including the minimum percentages of use of organic products, as well as the technical specifications necessary to qualify the school canteen service as an organic canteen, and to define reward criteria, to be included in the tender documentation suitable to encourage the consumption of products sustainable organic products for the environment and to reduce food waste.
From the point of view of food education, by the end of 2021, dissemination activities will be carried out aimed at teachers and primary school pupils with the involvement of fbiological didactic actors, through the production of a series of videos, to be disclosed to schools during the academic year. 2021/2022.
The videos, which will simulate a virtual tour of some organic educational farms, will tell the sector of organic agriculture, considering different supply chains, from the field to the sale of fresh or processed products to the consumer, with the involvement of nutrition experts and agronomists. In addition to the videos, recreational and informative products will also be created concerning the various chains of organic farming, different for primary school children (classes I, II and III) and for primary school and lower secondary school children (classes IV and V and classes I, II and III).
"Promoting the consumption of quality, organic and sustainable products in the field of collective catering and educating - especially the youngest - to a conscious, healthy and balanced diet are the main objectives of the agreement we signed with the Agriculture and Agriculture Department. Food of the Piedmont Region, in collaboration with the Chemical Laboratory of the Turin Chamber of Commerce. The project 'Initiatives for information and food education in the field of organic agriculture' is perfectly part of the missions of the Chambers of Commerce such as, for example, supporting the agricultural sector in its social and economic transformations and promoting a food culture of excellence. and respectful of the environment " commented the president of Unioncamere Piemonte, Gian Paolo Coscia.
"The Piedmont Region is carrying out together with Unioncamere Piemonte this important organic food education project starting from the youngest and with the aim of raising awareness of a greater number of Municipalities in the choice of catering companies that introduce organic products for meals administered in school canteens. To increase sensitivity to healthy nutrition and knowledge of organic foods, we start from schools with the help of teachers and the intervention of nutritionists and farmers engaged in organic production, or more than 2500 certified producers in Piedmont to guarantee the consumer. I also underline the educational and communication role played by our educational farms through which we give direct and concrete evidence of the various agri-food chains ", declared the Councilor for Agriculture and Food of the Piedmont Region, Marcus Protopapa.
For more information and data: https://www.lab-to.camcom.it/bio-project /
