This master's thesis examines how short food supply chains work in public institutions. Its key elements are physical and social proximity. Eighteen public institutions (nursery schools, two private nursery schools, primary schools, two high schools and two nursing homes) from the surveyed area where the local action group The Heart of Slovenia operates were included into the research. This local action group includes six municipalities: Kamnik, Moravče, Lukovica, Dol pri Ljubljani, Litija and Šmartno pri Litiji. Also included in the research through interviews and the focus group method, were local producers, Jarina cooperative, which designed one of the most successful models of short food supply chains in Slovenia, local action group The Heart of Slovenia, and the food supply chain relationships ombudsman. Based on the surveyed example it was determined that insufficient quantities and prices are two main obstacles in procuring locally produced food. We examined the supportive and obstructive factors of short food supply chain development and its positive influence on rural development. We formed a model which shows that the key approach in the future will be the bottom-up approach with systematic support of the state and with emphasis on developing cooperation and trust between all actors and participants.
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