Supported gastronomy

“Canteen Euro” for more Austria on your plate

Around 1.8 million Austrians eat in canteens every day. Chefs often don't have the budget to buy regional products.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/[e-mail])

When their stomachs growl, almost two million Austrians go to a company or public canteen every day. An action plan should actually prioritize regional products, but a survey shows that hardly any canteen operators can afford the higher price for local food. 

The action plan for "sustainable public procurement" (naBe plan) has been in place for buyers and chefs in public canteens since 2021. This plan is intended to help increase the proportion of regional food in public communal catering such as hospitals or care facilities. With around half a million guests a day, this would not be an insignificant factor for our economy. 

However, a recent survey of 500 public canteen operators revealed numerous challenges that stand in the way of successful implementation of the "naBe plan". The main reasons cited were too high a price difference between local and foreign ingredients and too low a purchasing budget.

Especially during the Martini-Gansl season, the focus should be on local meat. However, only a third of the geese currently come from Austria.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

One-euro demand
Robert Pichler from the "Wirtschaften am Land" association believes that the Climate Ministry, which developed the "naBe-Plan", has a duty: "In order to increase sales of local food in canteen kitchen purchasing, we need financial incentives that motivate compliance with sustainability criteria for origin, animal welfare and organic products".

Pichler calculates: "Just one euro more per portion of food would be enough to make the 450,000 meals served in public canteens every day more sustainable. This 'canteen euro' should only be paid out if proof of sustainable purchasing is provided in the form of receipts."

Advantages of sustainable food procurement:

• Responsible and careful use of available resources
• Promotion of regional added value through purchasing from regional producers
• Consideration of the entire product life cycle and the impact on the environment and society
• Consideration and promotion of the health of employees and consumers
• Enabling the welfare of farm animals through species-appropriate husbandry

Our farmers work from dawn to dusk to produce food of the highest quality. We consumers must make a conscious choice and demand local products.

Maggie Entenfellner, „Krone“ Tierecke

Bild: ORF/Günther Pichlkostner

Regional quality has its price
The Farmers' Union also has something to gain from the "canteen euro" and supports the demand to the future government. According to Farmers' Union President Georg Strasser, the difference between "regional" and "indifferent" is particularly striking when it comes to poultry meat: "Not even half of the poultry in our public canteens comes from Austria, and just 56% of turkey meat. Every second turkey salad comes from abroad - that puts our farming families under pressure and doesn't have to be the case."

Georg Strasser, head of the Farmers' Union, is aware of the value and price of local produce.

(Bild: Bauernbund)

Consumer behavior in the private sector has been proven to be quite contradictory. For example, Austrians reject full-slatted livestock farming and have very high expectations in terms of farming methods and production. "But then they often buy the cheapest", says Krone animal welfare expert Maggie Entenfellner. "I think it's a good step for the state to set a good example and subsidize purchases in its canteens," says Entenfellner.