Regional Food System Limburg is on the rise

Some three years ago in Schimmert, the kickoff was given for a regional food system grafted onto South Limburg. Since then, more and more companies and organizations have joined what is now the Regional Food System Limburg (RVS-LB).

Limburg regional products © Entrepreneurship in Limburg

Dutch people often think that having a little vegetable on the plate means they are eating healthy and, more importantly, responsible food, but in practice this is often grossly disappointing. Especially when you look at where the ingredients come from.

Maastricht alderman Hubert Mackus (Economy) recapped the facts on Thursday, Feb. 20, during a presentation of the Regional Food System Limburg. The average hot meal put on the table in the Netherlands weighs just under three ounces. But the components of such a meal travel an average of some 33,000 kilometers in total.

Desire

Much too much, of course, especially if, with a little creative thinking, you could also get most of those ingredients from your own "backyard," and then distribute them in an environmentally friendly way. That is the central idea behind the Regional Food System Limburg (RVS-LB), an idea that was launched as a South Limburg initiative just under three years ago, but has since gained a foothold throughout Limburg. Regional products are popular. Among consumers, who are increasingly attached to responsible eating, but certainly also in the hospitality industry, where guests are increasingly craving them.

Restaurants that show that they are proud of the Limburg product often have an edge in that alone, knows Jules Goossens, program manager Regional Food System Limburg. "They show that they are proud of Limburg and also propagate that."

Self-sufficient

But focusing on products from one's own region also serves another purpose. "Given geopolitical developments, it is important to realize that we can be self-sufficient. Limburg is the only Dutch province that can completely take care of itself if it has to."

To show this, after the presentation, packages of regional products were delivered to some fifty catering establishments in Maastricht. A symbolic action, Goossen acknowledges. "As far as we are concerned, it should not become a Maastricht party. The whole province is important."

More and more producers and organizations are finding it an attractive idea to join the Regional Food System Limburg. It allows them to have a clearly recognizable yellow-and-black logo, indicating that the product comes from Limburg.

Better price

Streek products are attractive to all parties. They represent significantly less CO2 emissions, simply because they travel shorter distances. Moreover, by keeping the chains as short as possible - and properly coordinating the activities of all chain partners - it is possible for farmers, as well as other stakeholders, to get a better price for their products, is the idea that should entice producers to join in.

The Stichting Samenwerkende Hotels Maastricht (SAHOT), to which most of the hotels in the Limburg capital are affiliated, also sees something in the initiative, said chairman Hans Bours. "It would be nice if in Maastricht hotels, for example, the breakfast buffet consisted largely of Limburg regional products," he indicated. He believes there is a good chance that he will get his supporters to support it. "Some hotels are already working on it."

Availability

A major concern in shortening food chains is the availability of regional products. If a restaurant owner has to travel many miles (or have them traveled) every day to get the right stuff, he will not come close to the goals behind RVS-ZL. Hence, the importance of good logistics was hammered home during the presentation. A large number of regional products are available from 't Vitamientje and wholesaler Bidfood, a loyal partner of RVS-LB from the very beginning.

An advanced form of urban distribution is of unprecedented importance to give the Regional Food System hands and feet, they know at 't Vitamientje, wholesaler of fruits and vegetables in Gronsveld. The company, which counts hundreds of restaurants in Dutch and Belgian Limburg among its customers, has taken three electric refrigerated box trucks into service to make emission-free deliveries possible, thus playing a pioneering role. The trucks charge with electricity from the five hundred solar panels on the company's roof, further reducing its carbon footprint. "We supply healthy products to the catering and healthcare industry on a daily basis," says director Raymond Wintjens, "For us it is natural that we also contribute to a healthy living environment. Electric driving is the future and we hope more entrepreneurs in the region will take this step."

Source: The Limburger