Context and purpose
The initiative responds to the persistent challenge of bringing the local fruit and vegetable production of l’Horta de València closer to the menus of school canteens and collective catering services. The local agricultural sector has encountered structural barriers to inserting its products into institutional food networks, which limits the incorporation of healthy and sustainable food into the collective diet of the Valencian Community.
Integrating this initiative into KM Tierra allows it to be placed within a broader program of Territorialized Food Systems (SAT), with the aim of professionalize the associated cooperative, consolidate the supply network and explore expansion to other Valencian regions with this approach.
Activities and organization
The operational cornerstone is the Horta-Cuina Agrarian Transformation Society (SAT), created in 2023 by a group of agroecological producers with an interest in collectively accessing the collective catering channel. The SAT coordinates the supply of seasonal and local fruit and vegetables with the demand for school canteens, planning supplies, optimizing logistics and agreeing on fair prices.
Horta-Cuina develops several integrated lines of action:
- Logistical coordination to organise professional deliveries of fresh produce to schools and other collective catering services, taking advantage of infrastructures such as the Ecotira collection and distribution centre in Mercavalència.
- Technical advice and support for kitchen teams and dining room management companies to design sustainable menus based on seasonality and the quality of local food. • Participatory dynamization with educational communities to promote awareness-raising, training and dialogue activities that strengthen healthy eating habits and understanding of the origin of food.
Impacts and scope
By 2024, the cooperative and the Horta-Cuina programme supplied dozens of schools in the Valencian Community, strengthening the connection between producers and school communities and progressively expanding the number of diners benefiting from local, organic and seasonal products.
