On Tuesday, 25 August, the Government approved amendments to the “School Milk and Fruit” programme, expanding the range of products available to children free of charge. In addition to milk, children will now also be able to receive kefir and plain yoghurt free of charge, while pupils in Grades 1–9 will also be able to receive honey.
Until now, under the school programme, children could regularly receive portions of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as pasteurised milk, free of charge during the school year. The inclusion of fermented milk products in the programme will diversify the range of dairy products offered to children and provide an alternative for children who do not drink milk because of its taste or due to a sensitive digestive system.
Milk and dairy products are an important source of protein, calcium, phosphorus and iodine, making them an essential part of children’s daily diet. Depending on an agreement between the educational institution, the catering provider and the product producer, kefir and yoghurt will be available to all children participating in the school programme.
At the same time, the school programme will introduce a new option – the distribution of honey to pupils in Grades 1–9. Honey is an important healthy traditional product in Latvia, while beekeeping plays an important role not only in food production, but also in plant pollination and the preservation of biodiversity. Including honey in the programme will allow pupils to become familiar with locally produced food. Honey may be supplied by beekeepers who meet the relevant requirements, and the place where the honey is harvested or packed may not be more than 100 kilometres from the educational institution. This requirement will promote the use of local products and short food supply chains.
No additional funding from the EU or the State budget is required to include kefir, yoghurt and honey in the school programme. The new options will be provided within the existing funding allocated to the school programme.
As previously reported, the “School Milk and Fruit” programme, which provides educational institutions with free fruit, vegetables and milk, has become very popular among children and young people over the years. In the 2025/2026 school year, 1,322 educational institutions participated in the programme. Fruit and vegetables were distributed in 1,301 educational institutions, while milk was distributed in 1,223 educational institutions. A total of 262,080 pupils (97% of the target group) received 884.4 tonnes of free fruit and vegetables, while 254,529 pupils (94% of the target group) received 2,267.6 tonnes of milk. In total, under the EU-funded support programmes for the distribution of products to schools, more than 52,500 tonnes of milk and milk products have been distributed in Latvia since 2004 and more than 13,600 tonnes of fruit and vegetables since 2010.
The amendments to Cabinet Regulation No. 485, “Procedures for Granting, Administration and Supervision of State and European Union Support for the Supply of Fruit, Vegetables and Milk to Educational Institutions”, will enter into force on the day following their publication in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis.
