We use cookies to make sure you get the best experience on our website. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. However, blocking some types of cookies may affect your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Further information
Community catering is an important market for organic producers
06/11/2023
Since 2018, organic farmland in Luxembourg has increased by 57 %, equivalent to a steady increase of around 10 % per year. By 2022, the proportion of farmland in organic production and in conversion will have reached 8.460 ha, or 6,9 % of the total national farmland area. Since 2020, the National Action Plan for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture, an ambitious roadmap, has accompanied the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture to further increase organic farming in Luxembourg.
Harmonising supply and demand
An important objective anchored in the action plan is the harmonisation of supply and demand. This is why the Ministry is taking action to significantly increase the proportion of organic products in canteens, particularly those run by public authorities. Pilot projects run by the Ministry have shown that organic menus are not necessarily more expensive. What’s more, if food waste is reduced in the kitchens, the money saved can be reinvested in more regional and organic products.
Free training
This year, the Ministry of Agriculture offered all the country’s communes free training in how to cook more local and organic produce in their school canteens while wasting less food. 37 communes, serving over 13.000 meals a day, have already taken advantage of this training. The training has been so successful that other service providers such as the Lycée technique de Bonnevoie, Anne ASBL and Croix-Rouge Services have expressed an interest in following the course too.
Children are the consumers of tomorrow
Knowing that children are the consumers of tomorrow, the emphasis was placed on collective kitchens for children. Restopolis has made great efforts with their “food4future” concept in secondary school kitchens. Free training from the Ministry of Agriculture will help to ensure that more regional and organic products are also used in primary school kitchens.
It is important for organic farmers in Luxembourg to have new outlets. Community catering is an important market for them. What’s more, the route from their farm to the school canteen kitchen is extremely short, which supports sustainable agriculture.