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Fair School Food

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Status

ongoing
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City

Berlin

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Main actors

Local Government

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Project area

Whole City/Administrative Region

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Duration

Ongoing since 2020

Including fair trade products in elementary school lunches 

In 2020, the City of Berlin introduced the use of fair trade food products in elementary school lunches. Each month approximately half a million bananas, 30 tons of rice and a large number of pineapples are now served observing fair trade standards. Caterers are obliged to provide proof they are buying fair trade products and receive guidelines on how they can meet these requirements. As caterers can choose when to buy and serve these foods, they can look for the best buying price and therefore the prices for publicly funded school lunches has not increased.

For further information about the case study, click here.

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
City
Berlin, Germany
Size and population development
In 2019, the municipality of Berlin had a population of 3,669,491 inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the European Union (EU). The larger metropolitan area has about 5 million inhabitants.
Population composition
According to estimations, about one third of Berlin’s population was foreign born or has a migratory background. These inhabitants originate from other parts of the EU—such as Poland, Italy or Bulgaria—as well as from countries outside of the EU, such as Syria, Vietnam or the United States of America. The largest non-native population comes from Turkey: In 2019, more than 107,000 Turkish nationals were registered as inhabitants of Berlin.
Main functions
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany. As a city-state it is also one of the country’s 16 Länder, as the federal states are called in Germany. Situated approximately 112 miles (180 km) south of the Baltic Sea, the city lies in the wide glacial valley of the Spree River, which runs through Berlin’s centre. The city extends over an area of 891.7 square kilometres and stands at an average altitude of 34 meters above sea level. After the reunification of Germany and East and West Berlin in 1990, the unified Berlin was re-established as the country’s capital (replacing Bonn, the former capital of West Germany). In 1999, large parts of the Federal Government and the German Bundestag finally moved back to Berlin. Berlin is a city of great historical significance, which becomes evident considering the amount of historical landmarks that visualize the city’s history. Some of the most important landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate (built in 1793), the Reichstag Building (which dates to 1884), remnants of the Berlin Wall (taken down on the 9th of November 1989) or the Holocaust memorial (inaugurated in 2003). Berlin is also a famous cultural hub, known for its world-class museums, theatres, operas and concert halls as well as its vibrant club scene and street art. Finally, the Brain City Berlin is a leading location for science and research. It is home to a number of prestigious universities such as the Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and the Technische Universität Berlin, with more than 35,000 students each as well as renowned research institutions and think tanks.
Main industries / business
As the fourth largest economy of the world, Germany has a wide array of prestigious industries. Berlin is home to a diverse mix of economic activities: state-owned enterprises, creative industries, automotive manufacturers, (digital) media corporations, high-tech and telecommunication companies as well as multiple digital pioneers that flourish in the city’s vibrant start-up scene. Tourism is constantly growing and brings about 14 million visitors (2019) to the city every year.
Sources for city budget
Berlin draws its budget for public expenditure largely from taxes, federal transfers, fees, fines and operating revenues. It is spent not only to provide high quality public services, but also to boost the city’s private sector, civil society engagement and cultural life.
Political structure
The city-state Berlin is governed by the Berlin Senate, which is comprised of 10 senators, and the Governing Mayor. As the capital of Germany, Berlin hosts the Bundesregierung (federal government), the Bundestag (federal parliament) and the Bundesrat (the parliamentary chamber of the 16 Länder). Each of the 16 Länder has a representation in Berlin. On many political issues, the Länder have co-legislative powers vis-à-vis the Federal government. Moreover, Berlin hosts embassies from more than 120 countries from around the world.
Administrative structure
Berlin is administrated by the Senate and its 12 districts or boroughs (Bezirke). The Senate is the city’s central administration, in charge of city planning, public policy, and the regulation of public and private spheres. The district administrations have some decentralized public functions, with reasonable differences between the various localities.
Website
http://www.berlin.de

In 2018 the city of Berlin was awarded ‘Fair trade town’ status by the independent German initiative Transfair e. V. The initiative also awards food and other consumer products the fair trade label. 

The main objective of the initiative is to promote and strengthen fair trade and public procurement.

After a research phase of approximately three months, which included studying market availability, it was decided that rice, bananas and pineapples should be the products to be purchased as fair trade.

The Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family provided the districts with a tender template for school lunches, which is valid for 5 years. In 2019, this template was updated. The City received judicial advice by different lawyers on how to define fair trade and how to implement ideas into the tender.

The Senate Department of Economics are responsible for policy guidelines regarding fair public procurement and promoting fair trade together with the District of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg provide expertise and practical know how on updating the tender. 

The City conducted a bidding dialog, and presented the tender to all organizations who were interested in bidding on the fair trade process.

The lead agency for the project is the City of Berlin in collaboration with:

  • The Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family
  • The Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises
  • The District of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
  • Christliche Initiative Romero (NGO)

The NGO had a project funded by Engagement Global to support fair public procurement in Berlin and provided background research, information on fair trade products and different types of certification. The three state agencies provided mainly human resources. 

This inclusion of fair trade food items is a milestone in fair public procurement and demonstrates that neither price nor availability can be used as an argument against the implementation of fair trade standards.  

For the next tender, the City of Berlin is planning to include more food products on the list that need to be purchased under fair trade standards.

In Germany there were no examples on how to include fair trade items in school lunches and if enough fair trade products would be available on the market. 

The project team didn´t know whether the collaboration   between Senate Departments, District and NGO would work and how district officials would respond to this tender change. 

There were a lot of questions during the preparation of the tender and lawyers were consulted on various issues including compliance requirements.

After receiving the ‘Fair trade town’ label, the City administration asked all 12 districts of Berlin whether they would include fair trade standards in their procurement of school lunches. Up to this point, they have not. 

Using fair trade products is possible and feasible. However, it takes time to make the relevant changes to public tenders. The process started about a year before the planned publication with discussion and research on how to do it best. 

It is important to build a collaborative working structure and and political will is a precondition in order to be able to make these changes happen.

The  initative has received a lot of interest from other cities and organisations and has been presented at numerous events. 

Categories

Europe Western Europe Children and young people Food sustainability Governance Health and wellbeing

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Want to know more about this project?

Nicola Humpert
Berlin, Germany

Nicola Humpert

Institution | Coordinator Pilot project SDGs in Berlin

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Fair School Food