Food for the Future

Food for the Future: A Cross-Baltic School-to-Community Approach to Zero Waste

Project objectives

The Food for the Future is a Nordic-Baltic initiative, promoting sustainable food practices in schools and communities across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The aim of the project is to bring together students, chefs, grandparents, and municipalities to tackle food waste through hands-on learning and local policy engagement. 

Activities

At the heart of the project are the Food Waste Days, with events focusing on community and municipal engagement:

• Cooking workshops led by local chefs, inspired by Nordic food preservation traditions. Workshops will bring together students with their grandparents and encourage them to share both traditional and modern zero-waste skills.
• Communal tastings and school-wide displays with practical tips;
• Municipal roundtables translating insights from activities into actionable policies. Each roundtable produces a brief memo shared with local governments and embassies, ensuring long-term impact beyond the classroom.

To ensure a long-term impact, selected students will become Youth Food Waste Ambassadors and will lead peer challenges and share their experiences via social media and a mini-podcast series. A regional reunion in summer 2026 will allow ambassadors to reconnect, share results, and plan forward.

Project timeline

The project started in July 2025 and will continue until October 2026, with the following timeline highlights being: 

• Jul–Sep 2025: Preparation and selection of schools
• Oct–Dec 2025: Food Waste Days and roundtables
• Jan–Jun 2026: Youth-led activities and digital outreach
• Aug 2026: Ambassador reunion
• Sep–Oct 2026: Final brochure with recipes and policy insights

Project partners

The project is coordinated by the Royal Danish Embassies in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, with support from the Embassy of Sweden in Latvia, and implemented by the Danish Cultural Institute in the Baltics.

Project partners include:

• Eco School networks
• Local municipalities
• Zero-waste chefs

The project is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Nordic Embassy Cooperation Program. 

Contact

DCI Project Coordinator, Artis Dobrovoļskis, ad@dansishculture.com