Although its official inauguration did not take place until November 20, Approv’Halles, the platform built in Provins and supplying the canteens of 119 public colleges of Seine-et-Marne (of the 133 in the department), has been in service since the last school year. It is based on a unique system in France called “Seine-et-Marne freshness” and supported jointly by the Department of Seine-et-Marne and the Île-de-France Region via a local public company (SPL) and an investment of 48 million euros.
The idea is to allow chefs from each school to prepare meals from local labeled productsorganic and seasonal (fruits, vegetables, poultry and dairy products).
The platform had a chaotic start-up
The objective is to enhance agricultural production seine-et-marnaise, strengthen the sector and offer middle school students a local and healthy food offering. By adding the 173 high schools of the Créteil academy and certain colleges in Val-de-Marne and Seine-et-Marne, nearly 13 million meals must be served each year from the start of the 2025 school year. For now, the goal is to achieve six million meals during this school year.
A little over three months after its launch, the first with d’Approv’Halles is mixed. The start-up, in fact, proved to be chaotic in certain colleges such as that of Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne where associations of parents of students have not hesitated to recently express their discontent. Insufficient service provided, poor quality products or meals with little variety: there is no shortage of complaints.
The Department defends Approv’Halles
Alerted by these criticisms, the Department of Seine-et-Marne provided details: “any project of this scale requires a period of adaptation. Immediate measures were taken as soon as it proves necessary and allow us to face the coming months in better conditions. Our desire is that each child benefits from balanced meals, from our region and in sufficient quantity. We are all committed to ensuring that this service fully meets the quality requirements that we have set for ourselves.“. An overall assessment will be carried out at the end of the school year.
