On 26 March 2026, a webinar took place within the cycle “Dialogue with Science”, dedicated to a current and socially significant topic – reducing food waste in school kitchens. The event brought together more than 170 industry experts, representatives of educational institutions and catering professionals to share experience and practical solutions on how to best prevent and reduce food waste.
The webinar was opened by Sandija Svarupa, who introduced the latest developments of the LIFE project “Waste To Resources Latvia - boosting regional sustainability and circularity” in the field of food waste reduction in Latvia. She emphasised the importance of preserving the value of resources and highlighted the role of food waste accounting and auditing as a basis for effective further action.
Practical solutions in school catering were presented by Guntis Bredovskis, a representative of the Latvian Catering Association and “Baltic Restaurants”. He provided an overview of the food cycle in schools – from opportunities to reduce waste during food preparation to best serving practices. The importance of self-service lines and close cooperation with school administration was emphasised.
Ingūna Salmiņa, representing Riga Primary School “Rīdze”, shared experience from everyday school practice. She highlighted the involvement of students in various projects, as well as the integration of food and waste topics into the learning process. The involvement of families in student activities was also emphasised.
Arvita Jukša from the Daugavpils Chemistry Neighbourhood Preschool Educational Institution presented how the topic of food waste is integrated already at the preschool level. She demonstrated various ways to promote children’s understanding of a sustainable lifestyle – from working in gardens and greenhouses to involvement in food preparation, recipe development, tasting of served meals and weighing of food waste. She also emphasised the importance of successful cooperation with kitchen staff.
Liene Klišāne from the Vidzeme Planning Region introduced the results of a food waste audit in Vidzeme restaurants within the Ce4Re project. She highlighted the importance of data in developing effective solutions and demonstrated how the developed waste weighing tool can also be adapted for school kitchens. The tool is available free of charge.
Svetlana Riškova, founder and manager of the community bakery “Re:maize” and representative of the association “Chef’s Club”, spoke about opportunities to reduce waste in the kitchen. She introduced the bakery’s operating principles based on sustainability and circular economy – from the choice of premises and equipment to packaging and recipe development using unsold products.
At the end, Ruta Priede, a representative of the Latgale Planning Region, presented activities implemented within the project “School Food Waste Solutions” in pilot school canteens, demonstrating practical solutions and achieved results in reducing food waste. She shared experience from study visits to Sweden and Finland, attended by representatives and chefs from schools of the Latgale Planning Region, and the insights gained, which provided valuable experience and a new perspective on various school catering processes.
The webinar demonstrated that reducing food waste in school kitchens is an achievable goal if a systemic approach is implemented. Cooperation between educational institutions, catering companies and municipalities is essential in order to introduce sustainable solutions and foster a responsible attitude towards food from an early age. Key takeaways from the webinar:
- the way food is served plays a significant role in reducing food waste. The introduction of self-service in both preschools and schools allows a significant reduction in wasted food;
- effective reduction of food waste requires a systematic approach involving everyone – kitchen staff, institution management, students and their families;
- participation in various projects promotes awareness among both children and staff, while also providing opportunities to attract additional funding for educational activities, equipment and development;
- significant improvements can also be achieved without large investments by using already available free tools, for example for food waste weighing and data analysis;
- in the kitchen, it is important to think more broadly about reducing food waste, focusing on resource efficiency and circular principles overall – from energy-efficient equipment and water saving to thoughtful space design and reusable materials;
- the opportunity to learn about practices in other countries through cooperation projects helps to identify new opportunities, promotes the implementation of improvements and strengthens professional confidence;
- reducing food waste in school and preschool kitchens is achievable when practical action, education, cooperation and smart resource management are combined.
Such food waste prevention and reduction activities not only promote the exchange of knowledge but also inspire the development of new initiatives across Latvia.
Webinar presentations in Latvian:
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