Comment les chef·fes de la restauration scolaire se saisissent-ils de la proximité pour choisir leurs approvisionnements ? Manger local répond à bien des injonctions de la part des parents d’élèves et des hiérarchies dans les collectivités territoriales mais cette proposition est absente de la loi EGalim de 2018 qui encadre la qualité des produits (50 % de qualité, 20 % de bio). Cet article, rédigé à partir des résultats d’une thèse (Esnault, 2023), compare 16 restaurants scolaires ruraux en Normandie afin de comprendre la façon dont la proximité est représentée et mobilisée par les chef·fes rencontré·es.

How do school catering managers take advantage of proximity to choose their supplies? Eating locally is one of the many demands made by parents and management in local authorities, but it is not included in the 2018 EGalim law, which sets out a framework for product quality (50% quality, 20% organic). This article, based on the results of a thesis (Esnault, 2023), compares 16 rural school restaurants in Normandy in order to understand how proximity is represented and mobilised by the chefs we met. Reducing the distance is systematically sought in sourcing, and is sometimes interpreted as a synonym for quality. The chefs who associate their thinking with a political dimension of proximity are those who source as close as possible and build strong social relationships with the local productive sphere.