– I was speechless, it was just too stupid. That’s what the principal at Hellvik school in Eigersund municipality, Svein Høyland, says. On Wednesday, pupil Timian Wetteland came to his office with two mini carrots in a plastic bag. The carrots are distributed to the students together with the school milk. – There were two small carrots of 50 grams, wrapped in a tight plastic bag. They cost NOK 15. Thyme calculated that the kilo price is close to NOK 300, says Høyland. Wetteland thinks it will be too expensive. It was these carrots that alerted the principal to the kilo price. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news – I hope they find out the price, if I should buy more of it, he says. In addition, headmaster Høyland reacts to the fact that the carrots are imported from Portugal. – We have wonderful carrot producers and carrots right outside the door. Just ten kilometers from Hellvik, we have three of the largest carrot producers in the country, he says. Jæren and its surroundings are often called “Norway’s food bowl”, and the area has, among other things, several large vegetable producers. The principal at Hellvik school, Svein Høyland, reacts to the kilo price and the country of import. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news – Tine has to take a walk The carrots have been bought through Tine’s offer school love. That it was precisely Tine who was involved, the headmaster finds disappointing. – I have great faith in Tine, and I have a great feeling for the co-operative idea and everything they stand for, but here they have to take a turn. I believe Tine’s social responsibility is not taken care of as we expect from them, he says. He believes there is too little awareness of what people buy. – This applies to both packaging and volume. Norwegian vegetables are both cheap and of fantastic quality. There is something here that is crazy. Pupils Molli Leidland and Natalia Markiewicz also react. – I think it is scandalous that they should wrap them in so much plastic from Portugal, when you can get them from Jæren, which is closest to us, says Leidland. – It would have been much easier and environmentally friendly if we had gotten them from Brusand, for example, says Markiewics. Molli Leidland is among the students who react to the fact that the carrots are imported from Portugal. Photo: Arild Eskeland / news – It would have been more expensive if the carrots were Norwegian Communications Manager Sindre Ånonsen in Tine says they are often asked questions about imported vegetables. – We fully understand that people are looking for Norwegian products throughout the year. We work with Huseby farm, which also supplies imported vegetables through a collaboration with sub-suppliers. Hans-Albert Huseby at Huseby farm says it is a question of price, and that Norwegian vegetables are seasonal. – It would have been quite a bit more expensive if the vegetables had come from Norwegian farmers. There is a pain threshold for what parents are willing to pay. He also says there is a big difference between fifty grams of carrots in a small bag, and one kilo of carrots that you can buy at the grocery store. – It is regrettable that price trumps origin for many. We would very much like to have sold Norwegian, but we have to do what the customer chooses, says Huseby. He also says that distribution affects the price. – Challenging Both Ånonsen in Tine and Huseby in Huseby gård emphasize that they want children to get a good and nutritious school meal with Norwegian-produced food. – The aim is to use Norwegian raw materials. At the same time, it is challenging to find Norwegian suppliers who can deliver in small vegetable formats with a good enough shelf life, at a price that means that consumers do not opt out of vegetables as part of a balanced meal, says Ånonsen in Tine. Sindre Ånonsen is communications manager at Tine. Photo: Tine He also points out that Tine states the country of origin on the packaging. – We are of course working to find better solutions for how we can offer Norwegian vegetables all over Norway. He says that so far there have been several conditions that make this a challenge. – I would like to make a request: feel free to contact Tine to discuss concepts. What we are constantly working towards is that we should offer the children exclusively Norwegian ingredients.
ttn-69
School students in “Norway’s food pantry” eat carrots from Portugal at NOK 300 per kilo – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
