Sustainable Food

This February, primary school children aged 8 and above studying at the four schools participating in the “Farm-to-School Twinning Project” will be able to enjoy local produce from the municipality in which the school is located or the surrounding area on the menu for their school lunches.

The schools-producers twinning project has two key objectives. On the one hand, it helps to make the primary sector more accessible and understandable for primary school pupils, raising awareness and introducing them to concepts such as sustainable food, agriculture, organic farming and land use and development. And on the other, farmers are able to stabilise sales of their produce, and balance their books.

Supply of these products has been agreed with regard to levels of service, quality and pricing between the companies managing the school canteens, and the producers they are twinned with.

The products supplied are mainly vegetables such as lettuces, pumpkins and sweet potatoes, and dairy products like yoghurt. All are organic, and are to be used by each school to prepare a meal consisting of a first or second course and a dessert that will be offered to all pupils on a monthly basis.

Twinned schools and educational centres

Specifically, the schools, which are all located in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, have been twinned with the following producers:

Escola Baldomer Solà de Badalona
This school has been twinned with the Hort d’en Pau which is located in Alella and has supplied pumpkins and lettuces, and also with the La Selvatana de Campllong dairy farm that has provided yoghurt. These foods have been used to make pumpkin soup, salad and puddings.

Escola La Floresta de Sant Cugat del Vallès
This school has been twinned with L’Ortiga, a producer located in Sant Cugat del Vallès that has provided lettuces and pumpkins, and also with the La Selvatana de Campllong dairy farm that has supplied yoghurt. These foods have been used to make pumpkin soup, salad and puddings.

Escola Mercè Rodoreda de Barcelona
This school has been twinned with Cal Notari, a producer located in the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park that has provided lettuces and sweet potatoes, and also with the La Selvatana de Campllong dairy farm that has supplied yoghurt. These foods have been used to make a dish of lentils with sweet potatoes, salad and puddings.

Escola Marinada de Barcelona
This school has been twinned with Hort de l’Eriçó, a producer located in the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park that has provided lettuces and pumpkins, and also with the La Selvatana de Campllong dairy farm that has supplied yoghurt. These foods have been used to make pumpkin soup, salad and puddings.

After this initial delivery, all the participating schools will received the same delivery each month, with the aim of making these dishes a firm fixture on the schools’ menus.

A pilot project

The “Farm-to School Twinning Project” is part of the Strategic Food Plan for Catalonia, which is linked to challenges such as boosting Catalonia’s self-esteem in terms of food, and ensuring population stability in rural areas, and also of the Barcelona 2030 Strategy for Healthy and Sustainable Food, which is a response to the challenge of promoting cultural and educational change to facilitate a move towards a healthier, more sustainable diet, and is being implemented in collaboration with the Joint Office for Sustainable Food (OCAS) and the Leader de Ponent Association.

The two participating schools in the city of Barcelona are also part of the MEMSS programme (Healthier and More Sustainable School Canteens) promoted by the Barcelona Public Health Agency and Barcelona City Council.