BIOTRANS – Support for Canteens in the City of Vienna towards an increased employment of organic food

Project goal

The goal of the BIOTRANS project is to support canteens in the City of Vienna at replacing convenience products by on-spot prepared meals of organic fresh products. This way, the share of organic products employed in canteens should increase.

Summary

Within the BIOFAIR II project, a current-state survey and a potential analysis have been performed for six selected canteens of the City of Vienna towards increasing the share of food originating from controlled organic cultivation. 

Three canteens respectively of the Viennese Hospital Association (KAV) and the Vienna Board of Homes for the Elderly (KWP) participated in the projects BIOFAIR II and BIOTRANS. These are, with reference to the KAV, the Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital (KFJ), the Hietzing Hospital (KHR) and the Floridsdorf Hospital (SZF) and, with reference to the KWP, the House Neubau (NEU), the House Tamariske (TAM) and House Trazerberg (TRA).

The current-state analysis of the canteens considers their situation as well as the current employment of organic food. Together with the canteen executives, those convenience products have been selected for a more detailed survey whose replacement through organic ones prove saving potentials to be expected.

A cost analysis has been performed of the convenience products and of meals prepared on spot by employing ingredients from controlled organic cultivation Thereby, salary, operational and purchase costs have been considered as well. The results show that for 18 out of 22 investigated meals, a costs reduction can be achieved if these are prepared on spot and out of organic products instead of using convenience ones.

The progress of the organic food share in the canteens is registered for the period between 2004 and 2005 (until Aug.), and the reasons for this development are described. Along with a value-based depiction of the organic food share in the participating canteens, the mass flows of the key article groups are investigated and demonstrated.

Within the BIOFAIR II project, also the canteen executives report on their experience and point out the findings that could be collected, where it should be reckoned on problems and in which cases an increase of the organic products share was possible.

Another focus is defined by a targeted dissemination of the BIOFAIR II project results among the canteen employees, the wide public as well as interested canteen executives. Further canteen executives are to be informed and motivated towards an increased employment of organic food. Therefore, a spectrum of measures is defined within the field of PR work. Together with the participating canteen executives, the forms of most effective PR work for the concrete hospital or tenements is discussed and determined. Publishing newspaper articles, presentations, information table cards, leaflets and posters count thereby as focal measures, and a series of lectures rounds the PR work.