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On May 13–14, Daugavpils became an important regional hub for dialogue focused on sustainable school catering. The International School Food Forum gathered more than 80 participants from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, and Sweden — including educators, policymakers, procurement specialists, local producers, and civil society activists — to collectively reflect on the future of school catering.

The event opened at the Latgale Industrial Technical School with a keynote speech by the Finnish Ambassador to Latvia, Anne Saloranta, who emphasized the importance of cross-border cooperation in achieving meaningful change in school food systems:

“Only by working together can we create systems that nourish our children and support local economies,” said the ambassador.

Participants were then introduced to important international initiatives — including a European Commission presentation on integrating food education into schools and the experience of Italy’s School Food Coalition, a global movement working to improve school food and learning environments.

Particular attention was drawn to Latvia’s own experience — Agnese Radžele-Šulce shared insights from the ‘From Farm to School’ initiative in Latgale, which has transformed both food procurement practices in schools and children’s understanding of healthy eating.

“Transforming school menus isn’t just about food — it’s about changing mindsets and creating connections between children, food, and local producers,” she emphasized.

Later, representatives from Finland and Sweden presented their experiences in reducing food waste within educational processes. Participants also engaged in an interactive workshop, mapping the various stakeholders involved in school food procurement — from farmers to policymakers — and exploring the complexity of systemic change.

In the afternoon, participants visited a preschool institution in Daugavpils’ Chemistry District, to experience firsthand how young children in Latvia are introduced to local food and kitchen culture.

“It was inspiring to see even very young children understanding where their food comes from. It reminded us how important it is to start food education at an early age,” shared one of the participants from Sweden.

The day concluded with a cultural program at Rainis’ House in Berķenele, where guests enjoyed traditional Latgalian dishes — barley porridge, kupāti sausages, and rye bread dessert — while discovering the rich culinary heritage of the Latgale region. 

The second day of the forum was dedicated to sustainable food procurement — a crucial tool for improving school catering systems.
The sessions were led by a local expert, starting with an overview of the current situation in Latvia.

The Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB) outlined the challenges within the regulatory framework and called for greater flexibility and innovation in public procurement processes.

The Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre (LLKC) introduced the platform www.novadagarsa.lv, which connects schools with local producers and could, in the future, become a dynamic foundation for procurement systems.

The Latvian Sustainable Procurement Association emphasized the importance of green and social criteria in procurement, noting that procurement should serve as a tool for change — not merely a means to reduce costs.

International speakers presented innovative models for involving small producers in public procurement:

• Lithuania’s CPO LT has developed a user-friendly national procurement platform that improves access for small producers;

• Sweden’s Vallentuna Municipality shared their flexible Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) model, which allows new suppliers to join at any time and promotes the use of seasonal, local foods;

• Estonia showcased practical examples from school catering, highlighting the importance of digital infrastructure and cooperation between tech providers and local governments.

The Latvian cooperative “Latgales Dabas Dots” shared their experience in successfully supplying schools with high-quality, locally produced products. Their work demonstrates how regional producers can play a vital role in both healthy school catering and strengthening local economies.

“It’s not just about food — it’s about community, identity, and sustainability,” said a representative of the cooperative.

In a workshop, participants developed a shared vision for a joint, cross-border dynamic food procurement system for the Baltic Sea region. The key conclusions:

• There’s a need for compatible digital platforms that support regional cooperation;

• Local context matters — systems should be tailored to the realities of each country while being guided by common principles;

• A call to launch a Baltic pilot project, where several municipalities would test the model in practice.

The forum concluded on a rainy evening at the Aglona Bread Museum, where participants enjoyed a meal served on clay plates, sampling traditional dishes such as “Veistūkļi”. The evening was filled with songs, including the folk tune “Pie Dieviņa gari galdi”, which symbolically reflected the spirit of the event — the power of community and a shared purpose.

The forum was held with the support of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, as part of the project “Circular Changes in Food Systems”, aimed at building a greener, smarter, and more circular food region, in cooperation with:

• Green Liberty (Latvia)

• Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre (Latvia)

• Latgale Planning Region (Latvia)

• Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

• CPO LT (Lithuania)

• Association of Municipalities of Tartu County (Estonia)

• Sustainable Gastro (Sweden)

• Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Latvia

Photos by: Zaiga Pettere-Kaļiņina and Inga Belousa

Watch the report on Re:TV here