Behind the Local Food Challenge is Arctic Smart Rural Community Cluster which helps entrepreneurs and municipalities to produce and use more local food in Lapland. The aim is to stop the capital outflow from the rural arctic Lapland. On a large scale, using local food decreases region’s carbon dioxide emissions and improves region’s sustainability.
The use of local food has huge impact on regional economy, as seen in the picture. By using local food in restaurants, households and public central kitchens the labour and value of food production and processing stay in the region. Because of the scale of the capital outflow generated by food procurement in the municipalities of Lapland, Rural Cluster aims for the 30 % self-sufficiency rate in the food sector in Lapland.
Rural Cluster launched the Local Food Challenge for the first time in Lapland in April 2019. Rural Cluster also challenges other regions in Finland and Europe to do the same and start using local food in their public central kitchens. The municipalities of Lapland now have the keys in their hands but when it comes to people in Lapland you can consider it done!
Rural Cluster Twitter: https://twitter.com/arktinenbio
Rural Cluster Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arktinenbio/
Rural Cluster Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arktinenbiotalous/
New direct sales channel in Facebook, Rovaniemi’s REKO Food Circle: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RovaniemenReko/
Arctic Smart Rural Community Cluster brochure:
Energy: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gw31m9nbxs3s70q/ENG_Rural_Cluster_Brochure_Energy_A4.pdf?dl=0
Food: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m09guespboa5mh4/ENG_Rural_Cluster_Brochure_Food_A4.pdf?dl=0
Contact information: Cluster Manager Johannes Vallivaara, johannes.vallivaara@proagria.fi, Cluster Depute Manager Tanja Häyrynen, tanja.hayrynen@lapinliitto.fi