During the peak of the Covid pandemic in Bulgaria, students from the Vocational school of tourism and construction in a small mountain town in Bulgaria joined forces with local food producers to provide hot meals to front line medics. The school provides vocational training to 20 students to become cooks, bartenders and restaurateurs. Inspired by the difficult working conditions of the medics, the students decided to use the school restaurant to prepare and deliver food to the local hospital. The school’s principal embraced the idea. However, there was no budget for agricultural products to prepare food. With the cooperation of the State Agriculture Fund, the school spread the idea to local producers from the local area. Soon, bags of potatoes, packets of beans, boxes of cheese and other products, all produced by local farmers and producers, began arriving at the school as donations. For three months the students cooked daily and prepared hot local food and drink packs for the medics. Today the initiative is over, but its success made the school’s management consider starting to supply products needed for the students’ training exclusively from local producers. The products needed for the school’s activities are not of large quantities and do not require a public procurement.
Students and teachers are planning to apply as a team for COCOREADO Ambassador competition and hope to receive training and knowledge on how to set up a short supply chain for local food supply for the school’s needs, and possibly to develop other social causes.
If you are also passionate about food and agriculture, have innovative ideas and want to bring changes in agricultural and food systems, do not hesitate to apply for COCOREADO Ambassador here.
Svetla Stoeva – IPS BAS