School Menus With Healthy Local Produce in the Balearic Islands

A pilot initiative linking public consumption with local farm produce

What does it consist of?

A pilot project in the Balearic Islands promotes the public purchase of quality local organic food for school canteens and other community services. The initiative seeks to transform the food system with a local approach, with impacts on health, the environment and the rural economy.

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Data

PROJECT TITLE IN THE CALL
ITS 2019-123: Promoting social and sustainable public procurement in collective catering. Phase 1
LOCATION
Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera
Entity submitting the PROJECT
Govern de les Illes Balears
Entity that executes the project
Serveis de Millora Agrària (SEMILLA)
Project code
ITS2019-123
Total project amount
500.000 €
ITS granted amount
500.000 €
Executed amount
486.299 €
Call year
2019
Budget implementation status
Executed
Purpose
Environment
Budget execution
Executed: 97.26%
Last updated
17.06.2022

The project

In a region like the Balearic Islands, where farming is closely tied to the landscape, culture and environmental sustainability, ensuring its survival requires the promotion of its products. Along these lines, the Balearic Government has developed a pioneering scheme to include healthy local food in public sector catering.

The project, promoted by the public entity SEMILLA, addresses issues with current food chains and coordination between institutions, producers and civil society. Its approach is cross-cutting: it focuses on improving public health, reducing the environmental footprint of the food system and boosting the rural economy.

Key measures include the creation of regional legal frameworks to facilitate these purchases, the training of public officials, the development of pilot schemes in school canteens and raising public awareness of the link between food, health and the land. This is part of a long-term vision for a fairer, more sustainable model.

The project, now completed, included info campaigns in schools, agro-environmental training for producers, and programmes such as Del mar a la mesa (From Sea to Table) and El gusto de los alimentos de las Illes Balears (The Taste of Food From the Balearic Islands). Its success will set the course for future food policy in the archipelago.