The City of Salo is a pioneer in hygienic dispensing

A five-year collaboration between the city of Salo and Foodduck was celebrated at the city hall with an introduction of a refrigerated dispenser made of chrome. This style is a great match with the fine look of the Kaneliomena café & restaurant.

Salo in Western Finland was the first city in the world to introduce FOODDUCK® spread dispensers. Use of the devices was piloted in the spring of 2015, and in the following autumn they were taken into use at four different schools and at the fine restaurant Kaneliomena (‘Cinnamon apple’) at the city hall. The ease and hygiene provided by the device, as well as the reduction of waste, have been significant improvements comparing with the time before the dispensers.

From the first idea to positive experiences and long-term cooperation

The initiative for the FOODDUCK® experiment came from the principal of the Toija school, Risto Hemmilä. He had often wondered that the spread buffet counter in the school canteen should be tidier. Spread cases could be bacterial nests with lots of breadcrumbs in them, and more than a hundred children used the same knives – even during the flu season. When Hemmilä heard about the FOODDUCK® spread dispensers, it immediately sounded like a solution to these challenges.

”The device works well on the serving line, and pupils need to spend less time queuing for lunch than before. Children are positively curious and learn to use the device instantly,” tells Hemmilä. Benefits can also be seen from the perspective of health education. “Many children used to take far too much of spread on their bread. Now the device dispenses the right amount for each.”

”I am delighted of Foodduck’s sustainability, as it is a part of the strategy and future of the city of Salo,” says catering and cleaning services manager Anu Sorvari-Happonen.

”We can be proud that we were one of the first to join Foodduck’s success story, the story of Finnish excellence and innovation,” adds Sari Tammi, who is working in the Kaneliomena café & restaurant.

Growing number of devices year by year

Today in Salo, the devices are used at seven schools and at the Kaneliomena restaurant in the city hall. These are sites of different sizes –  the Armfelt school is the largest with up to 1,500 students having lunch at the school canteen every day. And the place is working at full speed. The lines are equipped with a total of six dispensers. Serving of spread has become smoother thanks to the hygienic FOODDUCK® spread dispensers, while the reduction of waste and use of plastic supports the sustainability targets of the city.

The hygiene offered by FOODDUCK® dispensers has gained importance during the corona pandemic. The number of customer sites have increased over the years, and the most recent newcomer is the Moisio school, where the dispensers were introduced in March 2021 in the midst of a situation where hygiene is stressed everywhere.

Foodduck CEO Timo Sorsavirta appreciates the pioneering spirit of the citizens and the city of Salo and their open-minded attitude to introduce new practices. “The cooperation with Salo will always be something remarkable in our company’s history. In meetings abroad we often bring up Salo as our first customer. This always provokes a positive discussion, as Salo is known around the world for Nokia and high technology. Therefore, it is especially great to say that the first flight of our intelligent ducks also started from Salo.”

“During the pilot phase, we received valuable feedback for product finishing and got practical user experiences from real situations. Now, during the actual use, it has been great to see how well FOODDUCK® has been accepted both by pupils and city hall customers,” Sorsavirta concludes.