LounaFood, Food Centre Varsinais-Suomi
Aim
Food Centre Varsinais-Suomi, LounaFood, is a food sector service project. Through the project we promote local food in different ways: we serve, help and consult mainly small food enterprises to find new cooperation partners or new ways of production. We promote the usage of small enterprises' products in institutionalized kitchens and restaurants.
Services
In LounaFood we organize a variety of training and educational packages for small-scale entrepreneurs in food industry and in agricultural section. The educational topics can be either planned for one company alone or for a larger group of companies. Our expertise includes e.g. food safety in form of in-house control plans, personnel training for high hygienic working habits, hygiene proficiency testing, product development, optimization of production and process conditions and marketing guidance. In addition, we inform our cooperation partners and companies regularly about subjects that are up to date or "state of the art" in food sector. These can mean reforms in legislation, package markings, potential new cooperation partners etc.
In wider range, we organize different events to promote local food and its usage in local restaurants and institutionalized kitchens. In accordance with this, we try to link local food products as part of the every day food in the area. As promoting local food is one of our main targets, we also arrange small-scale entrepreneurs' product demonstrations for potential buyers.
Due to our extensive cooperation network, we can help companies to look for new partners in the area of logistics, co-production, co-marketing etc. This helps small-scale entrepreneurs to reach larger and bigger markets with smaller efforts and expenses.
Partners in cooperation
We cooperate with development centres in region of Southwest Finland, universities, polytechnics, vocational institutes and other stakeholders.
Funding
This project is part-financed by the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland 2007-2013 via Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Southwestern Finland and communes.
More information:
Johanna Mattila johanna.mattila[at]utu.fi