Constraints to local catering supply and solutions to overcome these difficulties, an example from a rural territory

Abstract

Relating to the current changes towards sustainability in our global food system, many projects of local and/or organic catering supply emerged and are implemented all around Europe. Besides this rising development, these projects are not easy to implement and these initiatives often have to face obstacles. The aim of this study was to identify the constraints of local school catering supply observed in rural territories and investigate if it is easier to implement these types of projects in rural areas rather than urban ones. In a second phase, this document presents success factors and actions-levers to overcome these difficulties. The survey was located in the Pays du Bocage in Normandy (France); we interviewed 30 caterers and 27 producers and processors. We found that many constraints are based on economical and logistical issues (canteens budget, deliveries, etc.) but there is also a great influence of human based challenges in regards to knowledge, change of habits, etc. Finally, rural territories share most of the constraints of urban areas; and in spite of a higher geographical proximity between producers and caterers, the gap between these two “worlds” is as present as in urban areas. Nonetheless, there are many solutions to overcome these difficulties. These actions and success factors relate to various aspects: cooking practices, education, stakeholder roles, etc. but most of them are based on people involvement, people learning, etc. Consequently, successful local catering supply is mainly based on stakeholders’ willingness and motivation to implement the project.