Reducing Food Waste in Educational Institutions in Tartu county

On November 23, a practical workshop was organised by Association of Municipalities of Tartu County in cooperation with the Interreg Baltic Sea projects “BSR Food Coalition” & “KISMET”, Tartu EIT-Food hub, LEADER action group Development Association of Tartu County, and Tartumaa food event series “Tirin”.

A practical workshop for caterers of schools and kindergartens in Tartu County, as well as specialists involved in catering management in educational institutions and municipalities.
The emerging discussions were focused on how to make our children’s food sustainable, delicious, and healthy.
Various opportunities and challenges were presented by:

• Kersti Aro, specialist-analyst from the Institute of Agricultural Economics at the Estonian University of Life Sciences
• Kaja Kesküla, project manager at the Võrumaa Development Center
• Tiiu Endrikson, sales and marketing manager at Baltic Restaurants Estonia AS
• Päivi Märjamaa, director of Puhja School

The presentations were followed by group work and a summary session. The workshop was moderated by nutrition therapist and experiential trainer Triin Muiste.

As a result of the group work, it was concluded that awareness of food waste as a pressing environmental issue needs to be raised at the national, local government, and school levels. Continuous communication and keeping the topic in focus are essential. To achieve change, municipal and educational leaders, the entire staff of educational institutions, children, parents, and caterers must all be involved. It was deemed important that the organization discusses and agrees upon a strategy and related measures to reduce food waste. It is crucial that chefs feel like full members of the team and that management and teachers acknowledge the problem, provide honest feedback to the kitchen staff, and lead by example as diners.

Programme Manual Online

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