Procurement from local producers for food service in primary and secondary school settings: A scoping review

Abstract

Issue addressed: Australian school canteen guidelines do not broadly incentivise procuring food from local producers, despite evidence of this occurring abroad. This scoping review aims to investigate what is known about local food procurement for school foodservice.Methods: A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published since 2000 was undertaken using MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus.Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Local food was generally perceived as fresher and more nutritious. Small, positive impacts on fruit and vegetable intake have been demonstrated when food is procured locally. Challenges identified included concerns around food safety, varied availability, time spent coordinating food supply, lack of incentive from regional or national guidelines, inadequate kitchen facilities and budget constraints. Conclusions:There is no universal definition or standard for procuring 'local food'.The main motivation for local food procurement was a sense of social responsibility, however there are barriers, including cost, facilities and food safety. Purchasing food locally holds potential to benefit the local economy but government funding and policy supporting local and small-scale producers is an important enabler.So what?: Government support to build stakeholder capacity is important in establishing and maintaining these programmes and would be crucial in achieving change in Australian schools. Investigating feasibility of a national school lunch service would be beneficial, as these programmes may have merit not just in feeding children but also in supporting the local economy. Further research is warranted in this area.

School food policies and the transition of urban food systems in Brazil and France: insights from São Paulo and Greater Paris region case studies

“…Given our main findings, we share only partially the enthusiasm that prevails in most discourses and in recent reviews (Filippini et al, 2018;Long et al, 2021;Molin et al, 2021;Galloway et al, 2022;Xie et al, 2022) which frequently omit to assess the links between school food relocalization and regional crop and farm diversification. Certainly, school food catering actors managed to channel a higher share of sustainable products to meet legal requirements, opening significant market opportunities.…”

Current Practices and Opportunities for More Sustainable Public Food Procurement: A Qualitative Study among Danish Municipalities and Regions

“…The use of locally and seasonally grown goods was in the present study found to be valued by many municipalities, notably to diminish "food miles" and support local economies, including small and local-regional farmers, traditions and culture in food production, as well as ensuring diversity in food products. Likewise, a recently published review on local food procurement policies and practices in primary and secondary school food service found that perhaps the most common initiator or motivation for participating in local food procurement is a sense of social responsibility [45].…”