Organic and Regional Food in Public Catering: 
Possible, but Challenging

Organic and regional food is gaining increasing importance in public catering – including schools, nursing homes, company canteens and public institutions. In South Tyrol, legal frameworks have made the use of organic and regional products more feasible, particularly through:

• Article 56 of Legislative Decree 36/2023

• Provincial Law 16/2015

   

Structural challenges remain

Despite these frameworks, implementation is often slowed down by:

• high administrative and bureaucratic workload
• limited quantities of regional organic products
• missing logistical and coordination structures
• the need to coordinate many small-scale farms
• partially higher costs compared to conventional supply chains

 

Strong arguments for organic regional supply chains

Nevertheless, the benefits clearly outweigh the challenges:
healthy soils, short supply chains, local value creation, climate protection and higher nutritional quality. Organic regional public procurement strengthens sustainable food systems and regional agriculture alike.

 

Bio Fair Südtirol: A Model for Genuine Regional Organic Quality

Since 2023, Bio Fair Südtirol has been connecting regional agriculture, gastronomy and public catering across South Tyrol. The goal is to bring fair, organic and regional products into professional kitchens – from alpine huts to company canteens and public institutions.

Three-level certification system

Bio Fair Südtirol operates a transparent three-tier awarding system:

• Bronze: at least 30% organic ingredients
• Silver: at least 60% organic ingredients

• Gold: at least 90% organic ingredients

   

Benefits for participating businesses

Certified kitchens and catering providers benefit from:

• organic consultancy tailored to gastronomy and catering
• staff training and capacity building
• legal advisory services on organic procurement
• inclusion in EU-funded marketing and communication measures

Bio Fair Südtirol is part of the EU project “Grenzenlos Regional Bio in Europa”

 

Challenges Ahead – and Why It Is Still Worth It

Key challenges remain:

• identifying suitable regional organic producers
• managing bureaucratic requirements
• fulfilling minimum environmental criteria
• covering additional costs in public procurement

Yet the overall impact is clearly positive: guests and consumers increasingly value transparency, authenticity and high-quality regional organic food. Bio-regional catering strengthens trust, regional identity and long-term sustainability in South Tyrol’s food system.