Dr Christine Kanand and Juliane Rabe are the faces of the Münsterland eco-model region

They started at the beginning of December 2022 and have since made many contacts, visited farms and talked to multipliers: Dr. Christine Kanand and Juliane Rabe manage and coordinate the project "Organic Model Region Münsterland" at Münsterland e.V. This makes them the contact persons when it comes to increasing the share of regional organic food in out-of-home catering, strengthening the marketing of organic regional products and expanding the regional organic value chain. "In all Münsterland districts and the city of Münster, the mission is to establish cooperations between bio-regional production, processing and sales, thus expanding the delicious value chain of Münsterland," says Kanand.

In spring 2022, the Münsterland was officially selected as an eco-model region by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, followed by the project launch in December. The goals are the expansion of organic agriculture and the creation of networks in the region. The city of Münster and the districts of Borken, Coesfeld, Steinfurt and Warendorf took part in the state competition under the leadership of Münsterland e.V. - together they form the eco-model region Münsterland.

Dr. Christine Kanand and Juliane Rabe have been dealing with the topics of nutrition and food economy for several years and see a lot of potential in the Münsterland region to increase the consumption of organic regional food: Juliane Rabe - a native of East Westphalia and a convinced Münsterlander by choice for several years - gained extensive professional experience at a regional producer on the Lower Rhine after completing a Master's degree in 'Management of Food Processing'. She took her impressions there with her to the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster and spent several years researching how people can be motivated in their everyday lives to act in a long-term and sustainable manner. "Here I noticed how much interest and passion the people of Münster already have for their environment. This is a good basis for also promoting and securing THE GOOD LIFE in the region with the project." This should also flow into her work for the eco-model region: "I am an end consumer myself and often learn very little about the origin of the products on the supermarket shelf. From my point of view, we need to give our regional food producers a face in public much more often and thus show them the appreciation they deserve."

For Rabe, the combination of regional and organic food is still underrepresented: "Every time I go to the supermarket, I have to decide whether to buy organic or regional food. It has frustrated me for a long time that there is rarely both. For me, organic-regional food is an important approach to also take responsibility as a consumer for more environmental and climate protection and to support farmers in managing their farms more sustainably." Too many people still take the wide range of products on offer in the supermarket for granted.

Dr Christine Kanand is from Schleswig-Holstein and has lived in Münster since 2011. As an ecotrophologist at Münster University of Applied Sciences and at the agency for sustainable change "pfadwechsel", she has worked intensively on the practicable implementation of healthy, ecological, socially just and affordable nutrition in the everyday life of out-of-home catering. Before that, she gained professional experience at the German Nutrition Society and the Vernetzungsstelle Schulverpflegung Schleswig-Holstein. "One focus of my work has always been the appreciation of food and to this end I have worked in a wide variety of projects on the prevention of food waste along the entire food value chain, especially in community catering."

As part of the eco-model region Münsterland, it wants to (further) work on the awareness of Münsterlanders for the origin of their food. "Sustainable food is essential for our health as well as for the irreplaceable ecosystem of our earth. Our food should be as natural and colourful as possible and it is important to learn about and understand the growing, production and processing process. We must also pass this on to our children. Only what we show them and 'eat' will they internalise and carry on later - also in daycare and school." Kanand sees a clear goal for out-of-home catering: "Menus must become more climate-friendly and biodiversity and resources should be protected with every bite."

In the next few weeks, the two project leaders want to work with the districts and the city of Münster to develop a concrete plan of action for the first year of the project. "In addition, we will be on the road a lot in the region, looking at local organic farms and also conventional farms. Now it's clear: roll up our sleeves and forge ideas together for Münsterland," says Rabe. 

Further information on the project
The four districts of Münsterland and the City of Münster are working together with the Chambers of Agriculture and the LEADER regions in the joint project "Öko-Modellregion Münsterland". Under the leadership of Münsterland e.V., the following goals are being pursued from 2022 to 2025: Strengthen the regional agriculture and food industry according to ecological standards, create the widest possible range of organic regional food for the people of the region and thus protect livelihoods and increase animal welfare. The networking agency at Münsterland e.V. is therefore starting with various measures to increase the quota of organic regional ingredients in out-of-home catering and to establish shelves with organic products from Münsterland in food retailing. In addition, the production of other organic regional products is to be encouraged. Further information can be found online at www.oekolandbau.nrw.de/oeko-modellregionen. The project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of NRW.