Large apples and juicy, ripe plums dangle from the trees in the orchards along Norway’s longest fjord. In one of the villages by the Sognefjord, Leikanger, there are around 80,000 fruit trees. But much of the fruit that comes to the pupils at the children’s school in the village through the school fruit scheme has traveled a long way and is not Norwegian. The school fruit at Leikanger children’s school is served. Only the carrots are Norwegian. But on the same day, a delivery of Norwegian apples arrived. Photo: Ingeborg Grindheim Slinde / news It is broken, a shame and not sustainable, says Anne Katrin Bøyum, who has children at the school. – At one end we hear about all the Norwegian fruit being thrown away, and at the other end the children are served imported fruit in the best season. Bama, which is a supplier to the scheme in Western Norway, replies that the children at the school receive Norwegian fruit and vegetables in season. (Read their full answer further down in the case.) Don’t know where it comes from – We have so many orchards around us that are full of plums, apples and pears now, so we could very well get a little more of it, says Rita Steig, who is responsible for the school fruit scheme at Leikanger children’s school. She finds that they only get Norwegian fruit a couple of times in the autumn. Then it is mostly Norwegian apples that come. But exactly where they come from is not always easy to know, according to her. What is the school fruit scheme? The Information Office for Fruit and Vegetables administers the scheme for the Norwegian Directorate of Health. All primary schools in the country receive an offer to subscribe to school fruit and vegetables. The scheme is financed in various ways, either parents pay, or the school makes a joint order that the municipalities, schools, FAU or others pay. The pupils get fresh fruit or vegetables at school. It can be apple, pear, orange, banana, mini carrots, kiwi, nectarine or clementine, depending on the season. In addition, they can get plums, berries and grapes. There are various suppliers of fruit (Bama, Fresh Temptations and Fruktringen). The information office for fruit and vegetables administers the school fruit scheme for the Directorate of Health. Various fruit suppliers receive the assignment by tender. In the contract (external link) there is nothing about the suppliers stating where the fruit and vegetables come from. Foreign bulbs for the pupils at Leikanger children’s school in week 36. But Bama assures that the bulbs going forward will be Norwegian of the Celina type. Photo: Ingeborg Grindheim Slinde / news – There is nothing in the agreement with our suppliers that they must disclose it to us. But we have an ongoing and good dialogue with all the suppliers regarding the deliveries, replies Hild Bjelland Sævarang, project employee at Skolefrukt. Anne Victoria Frogner in Bama replies that they try to write the city of origin on the accompanying slip that the schools receive upon receipt. – Where did the apple, pears and blueberries that they were distributed in week 36 come from? – There is no reason to come up with such an overview, Frogner replies in an e-mail to news. Almost half must be Norwegian According to the agreement with the school fruit scheme, the suppliers have undertaken to deliver Norwegian fruit in weeks 35–48. – At a minimum, there must be at least one Norwegian fruit per week during these weeks. Otherwise, there will be Norwegian carrots all year round, says Sævarang. In Western Norway, Bama is the supplier. In 2023, they delivered around 550 tonnes of fruit to the school fruit scheme. Of these, approximately 102 tonnes were Norwegian. Answer from Bama Communications advisor at Bama, Anne Victoria Frogner, answers as follows via e-mail. – Is it true that no Norwegian fruit and vegetables have been delivered to the children’s school at Leikanger this year? – We deliver Norwegian fruit and vegetables in season, and are now at the very start of the Norwegian apple season. at the start there will always be a slight time delay due to necessary logistics such as harvesting, quality control, packing and delivery. – The Norwegian apples for the school fruit scheme in Leikanger are on their way, and will be out at the schools at the start of this week (week 36). In addition, the Norwegian pear of the Celina type will arrive next week (week 37). – Parents and staff at the school feel that they have not received Norwegian fruit and react to the fact that they live in one of the counties that produces the most fruit in the country but still do not get Norwegian fruit. What do they think of those reactions? – See question 1. The children at Leikanger school get Norwegian fruit and vegetables in season this year. – Have they found solutions that enable them to offer Norwegian plums? Why/why not? If not, why has it taken so long? – Our experience tells us that Norwegian plums are very vulnerable in terms of impact damage, handling and distribution, because they are so soft. In addition, it is the case that the quality unfortunately decreases when they lie together with, among other things, apple. We therefore focus on delivering fruit and vegetables with a high tolerance for most types of handling in the school fruit scheme to ensure that the pupils eat fruit as much as possible. – In 2023, we delivered around 550 tonnes. BAMA delivered 102 tonnes (Berre BAMA figures). – How much of the school fruit this autumn will be Norwegian? – We have an ambition of around 40 per cent, preferably apple and carrots. – Several respond to the fact that it is difficult to know where the school fruit comes from. Why don’t the better ones state where the fruit comes from? – The assortment for all schools in the scheme is the same, regardless of location and number of pupils. There is a lot of logistics associated with this, in addition to the fact that we use fruit and vegetables that are robust and tolerate handling well, so that they are not thrown away. We try to write the origin on the accompanying slip that the schools receive upon receipt. – Is it possible to get an overview of where the apples, pears and blueberries that they got at Leikanger children’s school (earlier in week 36) came from? – There is no reason to find such an overview. – We have an ambition that around 40 per cent, preferably apples and carrots, should be Norwegian, answers Frogner in Bama. Furthermore, she writes that the start of the Norwegian apple season may affect deliveries now. – Then there will always be a slight delay due to necessary logistics such as harvesting, quality control, packing and delivery. Bama assures that there will be Norwegian apples for the school fruit scheme in Leikanger and that they will be in place at the end of week 36. When news visited the children’s school, there was a fruit delivery with apples marked with Nyt Noreg. Wants the children to learn to choose Norwegian produce Mother Anne Katrin Bøyum believes there are not enough Norwegian produce in the school fruit scheme as it is now. Anne Katrin Bøyum’s children came home with Polish blueberries. Photo: Anne Katrin Bøyum / Private – But isn’t it most important that fruit and vegetables are delivered to the pupils, regardless of where they come from? – The scheme is great, but the children must have access to good and quality raw materials. We work to teach the young people about the climate and the environment, and in that perspective it must also be wise to teach them that they should choose Norwegian raw materials, says Bøyum. Hild Bjelland Sævarang at skolefrukt.no says their suppliers work hard to ensure that there is Norwegian fruit in the deliveries when it is available. What happens to the plums? Recently, there has been a lot of focus on the large quantities of Norwegian plums that go straight into the bin. Producers believe there is a lack of willingness to sell, while suppliers believe there is too little demand after an extremely good plum harvest with overproduction. Five years ago, news made a similar case, where the director of communications at Bama, Pia Guldbrandsen, said that they wanted to offer Norwegian plums in the school fruit scheme, and hoped to find good solutions for it in the coming seasons. – Have they found solutions to it? – We learn that Norwegian plums are very vulnerable in terms of impact damage, handling and distribution, because they are so soft. Unfortunately, the quality goes down when they are mixed with, among other things, apples, replies Frogner on behalf of Bama. Furthermore, she writes that Bama tries to deliver fruit and vegetables “with a high tolerance for most types of handling” to ensure that the pupils eat fruit. Rita Steig at the children’s school in Leikanger finds that the children mostly eat most of it. – They are happy with what they get, so the fear goes down anyway. It is perhaps adults who are more concerned about this. Published 09/09/2024, at 15.52 Updated 09/09/2024, at 18.41
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The school children in the Leikanger fruit village in Sogn receive imported fruit from abroad – news Vestland
