Public food procurement in public settings in the EU

A template with various questions regarding public food procurement in individual Member States will be prepared in order to get an overview/applicative situation analysis of the existing national public food procurement legislation and implementation of the public food procurement legislation. Situation analysis will be done in three different groups:

1. First group situation analysis will be carried out in MS/participating partners that were not included in the JA Best ReMaP;
2. Second group for the in-depth situation analysis will include the MS participating in Best ReMaP; and
3. Third group for situation analysis will represent all EU countries. 

Following actions in support of the implementation of the planned EU sustainable food system framework legislation, for which requirements related to sustainable public procurement of food and catering services are envisaged:

1. Formation and organization of the inter-sectoral working group in each participating Member State, arranging at least one meeting per year. The working group will build on health in all policies approach and develop multidisciplinary competences. It will have an indicative overview of the EU framework and its recommendations;
2. Actions to support raising awareness and information regarding the EU framework on sustainable public food procurement (organizing webinars, creating leaflets, spreading awareness in individual Member States with regular informative meetings);
3. Engagement with relevant sectors, using minimum sustainability criteria for public food procurement as an initial input in assessing policies, strategies, challenges of the individual sectors, influencing optimal implementation of minimum criteria, looking for possible shortcomings;
4. Overview of the new proposed actions and identification of implementation actions in public settings;
5. Review of public food procurement role in the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme.

The aim of this subtask is to establish two levels networks to support the public food procurement regulation implementation: Establishment of an EU Network of national focal points for public food procurement and low-threshold network of local/regional public food procurement officers.

In the first year of the JA, national focal points for public food procurement will be identified, either for the first time or based on findings from the JA Best ReMaP. Four annual meetings of the network are foreseen. Firstly, a meeting of the EU Network of national focal points, and secondly, a meeting with the EU Network of national focal points and public health sector will be held. In the third year of the JA, a meeting with the EU Network of national focal points, public health sector and the representatives from other relevant sectors is planned to be organized and lastly, fourth and final year of the JA will result in another EU Network of national focal points for public procurement meeting.

Second level of establishment of an EU Network of focal points for public procurement is identifying people who are writing the tenders. This can be done with the help of a questionnaire and in collaboration with national focal points, who will help to recognize relevant institutions and to initiate the network in individual Member States. Each Member State will arrange at least one meeting with the Network of national, regional and local procurement people per year.

The planned activities in this sub tasks are:

1. Establishing guidance and creating a guidance document for sustainable public procurement of food and food services to be used by food producers and food service providers, based on requirements for healthy and sustainable public food procurement;
2. Exploring and supporting the development of a European food procurement e-tool, based on Slovene best practice, possible linkage with DG REFORM to upgrade the Slovenian best practice Catalogue of foods; 
3. Further exploration of the JRC Fable database potential for the inputs of the public food procurement data/policy, linked with WP8;
4. Recommendations for sustainable policy development further developments will be provided in line with WP4, to further support the effective institutionalized implementation of the results and the MS and EU level use. Best ReMaP public food procurement framework will be upgraded; and
5. Coordination of actions with EU Commission and JRC to assure the alignment of DG SANTE actions with the activities of Member States within JA prevent NCD and at the national and regional levels.