Copenhagen touts ‘organic food revolution’
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 24 May, 2016 CET.
Updated: Tue 24 May 2016 11:28 CET
An impressive 88 percent of all food served in the City of Copenhagen’s public institutions is organic, according to new figures released by the city.
No other city in Denmark comes anywhere close to that mark and it is believed that Copenhagen’s percentage of organic food is the highest in the world.
Copenhagen officials set a goal in 2007 to serve 90 percent organic food in its daycare institutions, schools and elderly care centres.
The school's nurseries, daycare institutions and schools have actually surpassed the target, serving 94 percent organic food, while food prepared in municipal kitchens for home care patients halts behind at 60 percent.
Seen as a whole, 88 percent of all food served in Copenhagen's municipal-run institutions is organic, just two percentage points shy of the city's lofty ambitions.
When officials set the target, just 51 percent of food was organic and most public kitchens relied heavily on pre-cooked and pre-packaged meals.
The organic transition was done with the same budget allocation as before, despite the more expensive organic goods. The city said this was done by cooking from scratch, buying goods in season, reducing food waste and using less meat.
“The transition to organic living is fully in the line with the green profile that we have in Copenhagen. The City of Copenhagen is a large player in the edibles area, and by setting the standard on organics, we protect the environment and help to ensure clean drinking water free of pesticides,” Mayor Frank Jensen said.
“But equally important, the high level of ambition has specifically led to a higher quality of life for every citizen, who is dependent every day on food delivery from the City. For me it is absolutely basic core welfare that we are able to serve healthy and tasty food in the City’s schools, nursing homes, shelters, and day-care centres,” he added.
Copenhagen’s roughly 900 municipal kitchens purchase around 11 tonnes of foodstuff each year. The city provides meals in care homes, nurseries, kindergartens and the large ‘EAT’ kitchen, which provides the city’s public school students more than 6,000 portions of freshly-prepared food every day.
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No other city in Denmark comes anywhere close to that mark and it is believed that Copenhagen’s percentage of organic food is the highest in the world.
Copenhagen officials set a goal in 2007 to serve 90 percent organic food in its daycare institutions, schools and elderly care centres.
The school's nurseries, daycare institutions and schools have actually surpassed the target, serving 94 percent organic food, while food prepared in municipal kitchens for home care patients halts behind at 60 percent.
Seen as a whole, 88 percent of all food served in Copenhagen's municipal-run institutions is organic, just two percentage points shy of the city's lofty ambitions.
When officials set the target, just 51 percent of food was organic and most public kitchens relied heavily on pre-cooked and pre-packaged meals.
The organic transition was done with the same budget allocation as before, despite the more expensive organic goods. The city said this was done by cooking from scratch, buying goods in season, reducing food waste and using less meat.
“The transition to organic living is fully in the line with the green profile that we have in Copenhagen. The City of Copenhagen is a large player in the edibles area, and by setting the standard on organics, we protect the environment and help to ensure clean drinking water free of pesticides,” Mayor Frank Jensen said.
“But equally important, the high level of ambition has specifically led to a higher quality of life for every citizen, who is dependent every day on food delivery from the City. For me it is absolutely basic core welfare that we are able to serve healthy and tasty food in the City’s schools, nursing homes, shelters, and day-care centres,” he added.
Copenhagen’s roughly 900 municipal kitchens purchase around 11 tonnes of foodstuff each year. The city provides meals in care homes, nurseries, kindergartens and the large ‘EAT’ kitchen, which provides the city’s public school students more than 6,000 portions of freshly-prepared food every day.
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