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EU - School program for fruit, vegetables and milk - apply for funding
Service Description
Obesity and unhealthy nutrition are becoming an ever greater challenge worldwide. The European Union wants to take countermeasures at an early stage and is therefore starting with children and young people: The EU Schools Program is designed to make fruit and vegetables and fresh milk palatable to children and young people and to promote healthier eating.
Thuringia offers the opportunity for as many children as possible in the state's kindergartens, elementary schools and special schools to eat an extra portion of fresh fruit and vegetables on a regular basis. In this way, children can be taught that fruit and vegetables are not only healthy, but also taste good. The children should get to know and taste regional and seasonal fruits and vegetables as well as milk, also in organic quality.
Combined with further educational measures in the schools, our children should learn more about the colorful variety of fruits and vegetables. In the classroom, in the school garden and during visits to farms, children should be taught where our food comes from, how it is produced and what production effort is involved. In daycare centers, nutrition and consumer education topics related to milk should be included in the pedagogical concept and implemented in everyday life. Milk parties are a good way of doing this.
Process flow
1. admission / participation procedure
- Prior to the first delivery, school authorities (program component fruit) as well as educational institutions and milk suppliers (program component milk) must submit an application for admission to the EU School Program.
- The competent authority decides on the application and issues an admission notice/participation notice. The admission of school authorities and milk suppliers (grantees) is valid for several school years. Educational institutions must apply to participate per school year.
- The fruit suppliers conclude a supply agreement with the school authorities and the milk suppliers with the educational institutions before the first delivery.
2. approval procedure
- The beneficiaries then apply for a grant under the EU School Program on the basis of the supply agreement for the corresponding school year. The responsible authority decides on the application and issues a notice of approval. Only then may the participating schools and children's facilities be supplied.
3. payment procedure
- After delivery and in compliance with the specified accounting periods, the grant recipients submit the application for disbursement. Application deadlines must be observed when applying for disbursement. The application for disbursement must be accompanied by proof of delivery and, in the case of the fruit program component, by receipted invoices for delivery. The responsible authority examines the applications for payment and decides by means of a notice and pays the approved subsidies to the recipients.
Who should I contact?
Please contact the Thuringian State Office for Agriculture and Rural Areas - Field Office Sömmerda - Department 54.
Competent authority
Thuringian State Office for Agriculture and Rural Areas - Sömmerda Branch Office - Department 54
Requirements
- Grantees must be approved at the time of the first delivery. In the milk program component, the educational institution must additionally have been selected for the milk program component at the time of the first delivery (confirmation of participation).
- A valid supply agreement must be entered into prior to the first delivery. This must be submitted to the authority.
- A supply to the participating educational institution must be guaranteed for a minimum period of six months per school year.
- The distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk must comply with the minimum portion sizes that each registered child must receive and the produce requirements. Only fresh and unprocessed fruits and vegetables or drinking milk without additives are eligible. Processed products or products with added sugar, fat, salt or sweeteners are not eligible.
Which documents are required?
Admission procedure
- Form-bound application for admission for applicants
- Form-bound application for participation for educational institutions (program component milk)
Approval procedure
- Form-bound funding application
- Attachments to the funding application (accompanying educational measure):
- a description of the project
- cost calculation incl. three offers
- Photo (in the case of construction measures, documentation of the actual condition)
- Proof of ownership/tenancy/lease agreement (for investment measures)
Disbursement procedure
- Formal application for disbursement
- Attachments to the disbursement application:
- the completed proof of supply, countersigned by the educational institution
- Factual report
- Expenditure overviews
- Invoices and proof of payment in original and copy (only for program component fruit)
What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?
Payment of the subsidy within three months after submission of the complete payment applications.
- Applications for the milk program component are possible on a continuous basis from 01 April for the following school year.
- Applications for the fruit and vegetables program component must be submitted by May 1 for the following school year.
Grants will be awarded based on the chronological order of applications submitted, as long as sufficient budget funds are available.
Legal basis
- Regulation (EU) No. 1308/2013
- Regulation (EU) No.1370/2013
- Regulation (EU) 2016/791
- Regulation (EU) 2016/795
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/39
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/40
- Agricultural Products School Program Act (LwErzgSchulproG).
- Agricultural Products School Program Participation Ordinance (LwErzgSchulproTeilnV)
- Guideline for the implementation of EU regulations on the school program for the purpose of promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables at Thuringian primary, community and remedial schools, flanked by accompanying pedagogical measures (RL-SPOG)
- Decree on the implementation of Union law provisions on the school program for the purpose of promoting the consumption of drinking milk in Thuringian daycare centers as well as elementary, community and special schools.
Applications / forms
The competent authority shall decide on participation in the school program at its own discretion.
An appeal against the decisions of the authority may be lodged within one month of notification. The appeal must be filed with the Thuringian State Office for Agriculture and Rural Areas (TLLLR).
Appeal
Promoting the supply of fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren
(Program Component Fruit)
- Approval application
- Application for approval/amendment
- Attachments to the change request
- Disbursement application
- Proof of delivery as an attachment to the application for payment
- Proof of use
Promotion of the supply of milk to educational institutions
(Program component milk)
- Application for approval as school milk supplier (milk suppliers)
- Application for participation in the school milk program (educational institutions)
- Application for funding
- Proof of educational measures carried out
Comments
FAQ
What are the program goals?
The program aims to increase children's consumption and acceptance of fruit, vegetables and milk by offering these products on a regular basis in elementary, community and special schools and centers. A free extra portion of fruit, vegetables and milk is intended to make healthy eating palatable to the children.
Accompanying educational measures, such as farm visits or thematic project days, are also intended to promote knowledge about the products and their origins as well as the children's skills in handling the products.
Who can apply for funding?
In the fruit and vegetables program component, applicants for funding to promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables and for accompanying educational measures are public and private school authorities.
Applicants in the Milk program component are approved milk suppliers, such as direct agricultural marketers, retailers/wholesalers or dairies.
What does participation in the EU School Fruit and Vegetable Program mean for the school board and the institutions?
The approved school boards select the suppliers for the interested institutions on the basis of public procurement law and conclude corresponding supply agreements with suppliers. The School Boards receive the funding as a so-called grant to reimburse their eligible expenses to the suppliers.
All interested facilities of a participating school board are regularly supplied with fresh fruits and vegetables by a supplier. They acknowledge receipt of the goods and, if necessary, make the portions to the students.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the program, at least one accompanying educational measure must be carried out in the facilities during the school year and documented.
What does participation in the EU School Milk Program mean for the participating educational institutions?
All participating institutions are regularly supplied with free drinking milk by an approved supplier. The search for a suitable supplier as well as the on-site organization are the responsibility of the institutions. In order to increase the effectiveness of the program, at least one accompanying educational measure must be carried out in the facilities during the school year and documented.
What is the amount of the subsidy?
Funding for the distribution of fruit, vegetables and milk is provided as project funding with a fixed amount as a non-repayable grant.
For accompanying educational measures (only program component fruit and vegetables), funding is provided in the form of partial funding of a maximum of 70 % of the eligible expenses. Full funding is granted if the eligible expenses do not exceed €750 per measure.
What is eligible for funding?
The distribution of fresh fruit, vegetables and milk in elementary and community schools in grades 1 to 4, in all grades of special schools and support centers, and in daycare centers in Thuringia is eligible for funding. In addition, the program component Fruit and Vegetables provides funding for expenditures on accompanying educational measures that provide didactic support for the subsidized distribution of fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren.
Which products are eligible?
Eligible products under the EU School Program are fresh and unprocessed fruits and vegetables as well as fresh drinking milk without additives, optionally from conventional or organic production. For more details, please refer to the appendices of the respective funding guidelines.
In particular, products or processed products to which sugar, fat, salt or sweeteners have been added are excluded from the promotion.
The distribution of fruit and vegetable juices or mixed milk drinks is also not eligible for funding.
What are accompanying educational measure(s)?
Accompanying educational measure(s) may include, but are not limited to:
- Healthy school breakfast
- Visit to agricultural / horticultural enterprises
- School garden
- Curriculum-related project days
- AID nutrition license
- Class 2000
- Milk parties
The daycare centers and schools supplied must carry out and document at least one accompanying educational measure during the funding period.
Author
Thuringian Ministry for Migration, Justice and Consumer Protection (TMMJV)
Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure and Agriculture (TMIL)
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
Technically approved by
Thuringian State Office for Agriculture and Rural Areas
Professionally released on
20.02.2023
Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)
Competent Authority
Thüringer Landesamt für Landwirtschaft und Ländlichen Raum (TLLLR) - Referat 54 - Agrarförderzentrum Mittelthüringen - Zweigstelle Sömmerda
Address
99610 Sömmerda
Remark: Sömmerda Branch
