Võru County schools offering organic lunches say local produce in short supply
Municipalities in Võru County aim to increase the proportion of organic food in educational institutions, but the high cost of organic ingredients and the limited number of local organic food producers have become obstacles.
Four years ago, municipalities in Võru County decided that at least 20 percent of the food served in educational institutions should be prepared using organic ingredients, ideally sourced from local farmers. While the goal has been achieved, it has become evident that there are few organic food growers and producers in Võru County.
"Through this process, it has become clear that we should strive for organic ingredients to be as local as possible. However, it's not feasible to source organic ingredients locally year-round. That's why we've taken initial steps towards fostering local entrepreneurship to increase the availability of organic products. In collaboration with the public and private sectors, we are developing a processing center for garden produce in Obinitsa," said Tiit Toots, a member of the management board at the Võru County Development Center.
At Parksepa School in Võru County, the school chef has managed to maintain the share of organic food at over 20 percent. According to principal Aigi Sikkal, this would have been very difficult without state support.
"State support plays a role in enabling us to prepare higher-quality food, but I would say that the motivation of the chefs is equally important. A school chef must also be willing and committed to ensuring that our children can eat more healthily," said Sikkal.
The higher the proportion of organic food in the lunches provided to children, the greater the state support.
"Thanks to this, all local government educational institutions in our county have started using organic food. It's been a good incentive," said Kaja Kesküla, project manager at the Võru County Development Center.
Svetlana Hinn, who has worked as a chef at Parksepa School for 18 years, noted that the quality of organic ingredients has improved over the years, but finding local organic vegetables remains a challenge at times.
"There could be a wider variety of vegetables. It's mostly potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions. There's not much else available, especially in the fall when everyone has zucchini and squash, but we can't get them. They're brought in from Italy or elsewhere. It would be great to have more domestic produce," said the chef.
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Editor: Merili Nael, Marcus Turovski
