Empty Plates and Outstanding Results: Rugāji Secondary School Successfully Reduces Food Waste Inspired by Swedish Experience

In the current school year, Rugāji Secondary School in Balvi Municipality has launched a new initiative – a responsible eating campaign aimed at improving the school catering process and significantly reducing food waste. The initiative is inspired by Nordic experience, and the first results show strong student engagement and a growing sense of responsibility.

A Competitive Spirit Encourages Action

As part of the campaign, school cooks weigh students’ food leftovers on a daily basis. The class that leaves the least amount of food on lunch plates over the course of a month earns the title of “Most Responsible Class.” The main prize is especially motivating – the winning class gets to agree on their favorite dish for a special lunch that is not part of the regular menu. In previous months, students have already enjoyed treats such as tortillas and burgers as their reward.

Deputy Head for Educational Affairs at Rugāji Secondary School, Ilze Dobrovoļska, notes:
“Children really enjoy the spirit of competition, and it naturally motivates them to be responsible in the cafeteria as well. This motivation helps shape a responsible attitude toward food not only at school, but also beyond it.”

Experience from Sweden: The Karlstad Example

The idea for this approach emerged after a delegation from the Latgale Planning Region, including Rugāji Secondary School’s head cook Valentīna Sproģe, visited Karlstad, Sweden, in June 2025 as part of the “SchoolFood WasteSolutions” project.

During the visit, participants learned about Swedish best practices, where strong emphasis is placed on fostering a respectful attitude toward food by involving students in decision-making and introducing them to how food is produced. This experience became the foundation for introducing a motivational system in Rugāji. Initially, the school principal introduced a self-service principle (students serve their own portions), which was later followed by the cooks’ initiative to organize the competition.

Visible Results and Future Goals

The campaign has already achieved notable success – the amount of food waste has decreased significantly. As head cook Valentīna Sproģe explains:
“Sometimes we don’t even have one kilogram of waste, other times about two kilograms, but overall it’s clear that there is very little.”

On average, food waste amounts to about 1.2 kilograms per child during this school year, which is considered a very good indicator.

Although regulations regarding free school lunches in Balvi Municipality are changing, Rugāji Secondary School hopes that this campaign will become a long-term habit, promoting awareness of the value of food both within students’ families and in society as a whole.

The SchoolFood WasteSolutions project is co-financed by the European Union. The Interreg Central Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027 focuses on promoting cross-border cooperation to address common challenges and to create a more sustainable, innovative, and inclusive Central Baltic region.

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Story by: Latgale Regional Television