On May 13 and 14, the International School Food Forum took place at the Latgale Industrial Technical School in Daugavpils. The aim of the forum was to develop a shared vision for more sustainable food systems in schools. The two-day programme brought together more than 80 professionals from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden to seek solutions for improving the quality of school catering and strengthening food education in schools.
The forum was attended by educators, policymakers, procurement specialists, local producers and civil society activists, who came together to discuss the future of school catering, with a particular focus on sustainable food practices. This event concluded the two-year project “Circular FoodShift”, whose main goal is to promote transformation in school catering systems and reduce food waste in school canteens.
Opening the first day of the event, Ambassador of Finland to Latvia, H. E. Anne Saloranta, gave an overview of how the school meal system has developed and evolved in Finland. She also emphasised the importance of reducing food waste and promoting circular economy solutions in school food services – from school leadership decisions to the classroom level:
“At a national level, schools are given resources to teach students about sustainable consumption and food waste reduction. Home economics education, offered in the Finnish schools, incorporates lessons on sustainable eating practices, emphasizing the importance of minimizing food waste.”
Participants of the Forum were introduced to important international initiatives focused on integrating food education into schools. Latvian speakers shared their successes in changing school food procurement methods and improving children’s understanding of healthy nutrition, while representatives from Finland and Sweden focused on reduction of food waste. Attendees took part in an interactive workshop and visited a preschool in Daugavpils to see how the discussed initiatives are being implemented in practice.
The second day of the forum was dedicated to sustainable food procurement. Local experiences were shared by the Procurement Monitoring Bureau, the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre and the Latvian Sustainable Procurement Association. Gues speakers from Lithuania’s CPO LT and the municipality of Vallentuna in Sweden presented innovative models for involving small producers in public procurement. During the practical workshops on the second day, participants developed a shared vision for a dynamic, cross-border food procurement system for the Baltic Sea region.
The forum was supported by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme and organised in cooperation with Green Liberty (Latvia), the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre (Latvia), the Latgale Planning Region (Latvia), Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (Finland), CPO LT (Lithuania), the Association of Municipalities of Tartu County (Estonia), Sustainable Gastro (Sweden) and the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Latvia.
Moderator: Eva Johansone. Photographer: Zaiga Pettere-Kaļiņina.
