“Providing canteens cannot be improvised,” summarizes Aurélien Thibaux, founder of the Fermette bio de l’Epte in Gisors.
This young farmer of vegetables, small fruits, goats and poultry, retrained after a first career in the banking sector, was shown as an example on Tuesday February 6 during an impromptu visit by the president of the Eure department Alexandre Rassaërt, the prefect Simon Babre and the president of the Chamber of Agriculture Gille Lievins, a few days after the end of the agricultural mobilizations.
From his farm, Aurélien Thibaux supplies vegetables to several schools, including the Paul Eluard school restaurant in Gisors.
Under the direction of Jacques Thévenon, the canteen provides 800 meals every day for the children of four elementary schools in the city and, in January 2024, it has almost achieved the objectives imposed by the Égalim Law.
“In 2023, we had a proportion of 42% of products said to have high environmental value, in January 2024 we reached 50% including 14% organic.
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Read also: Anger of farmers: why the Egalim law causes so much tension
Since January 1, 2024, the Egalim law has required collective catering to use at least 50% sustainable, quality products, including 20% organic.
But to date, and this was one of the grievances of the farmers mobilized in January, the account is not there.
“17% of school restaurants comply with the Egalim law in the department,” says Simon Babre, the prefect who believes that this figure “needs to be made more reliable.”
A website, ma-cantine.agriculture.gouv.fr, is available but its data is based on a declarative basis: school restaurants are invited to indicate the origins and labels of their supplies.
In Gisors, applying Egalim leads to some changes in canteen practices, starting with the cost.
“Costs increased by 27% in 2023 but with 24 months of inflation,” recalls Jacques Thévenon.
The school canteen director sometimes struggles to find the right supplies, due to issues of volume and sometimes storage.
“In our canteen, we do not have the space to store beef for several meals; we had to work in advance, with my slaughterhouse, on a storage system so that it would first deliver the minced steaks to me and then the other pieces according to my menus.
» Questions of logistics which, beyond environmental standards, perhaps represent the main challenges for short-circuit farmers.
“Delivering 10 kg of carrots is not profitable”
For Aurélien Thibaux, whose farm adjoins the Louise-Michel high school, the collaboration with collective restaurants began well before 2024 and the operator gains financial security and quality of life: “We work with the high school, with the schools from Gisors, those from Sérifontaine, a high school in Rouen… Before, I delivered to Paris, I had to get up early, I had significant fuel expenses.
I have gained peace of mind, I give meaning to my job because I feed my children and those around me.”
And yet, working with collective catering is not easy for a local producer.
“We must take into account the rhythms of the canteen staff, not overload the packages so that they can be handled, select the right sizes which correspond to the appliances with which the kitchens are equipped…” And, incidentally, slip in some recipes along the way to better promote certain vegetables!
If the call for tenders he won gives him visibility over 20% of his sales, the farmer would like to go further and is calling on the public authorities to do so.
“It would not be profitable for me to go and deliver 10 kg of carrots somewhere.
But if those responsible for collective catering coordinate their orders, we will be able to pool deliveries over short distances.
Farmers do not have the logistics skills that large agri-food companies have developed and this is what penalizes us today.
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Remarks well heard by Gilles Lievins: “What I remember today is that we rediscover the meaning of food.
What happens in the fields is the content of our plates of tomorrow,” summarizes the president of the Eure Chamber of Agriculture.
Of the approximately 3,000 operators in Europe, 520 are involved in short-circuit sales and see potential for added value and opportunities in collective catering.
“This requires support, training on setting up logistics, on marketing, on how to respond to calls for tenders.
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“If there is already a barrier to entry at the start of the market, it is certain that farmers cannot supply our canteens,” concedes the prefect of Eure.
He raises the questions of seasonality and volume scales which would allow farmers better profitability than by operating college by college and opens the door to a working group dedicated to Égalim to help farmers to better compete with their European neighbors by promoting good environmental practices.