the municipality produces its fruit and vegetables for the canteens of three crèches

Ronan Bétin harvests 80 kilos of fruit and vegetables each week in winter. He delivers them to the cooks of three nurseries in Vannes, for the children’s meals. “It’s still small market gardening, we know what we planted, we follow everything from A to Z”, he explains. When the municipal team decided to produce fruit and vegetables themselves three years ago, they already owned the land six kilometers from the crèches. The objective of the elected officials was to serve organic, fresh and local vegetables to children, without going through a wholesaler. The market gardeners in the Vannes region were not interested.

In 2019, the city of Vannes was a pioneer. Since then, the experience has proven itself. The municipal farm covers 80% of the fruit and vegetable needs of its three crèches, the budget is balanced, and this successful model is of interest to other municipalities. In Vannes, a second market gardener will soon lend a hand, with the aim of increasing production and supplying the city’s five crèches, and eventually the primary schools. There remains the problem of unobtainable land: 7,000 m2 will not be enough to feed all the children of Vannes.