This research was conducted within the framework of a research project aimed at detecting patterns of plate waste and developing recommendations for improving catering in seven schools in Rezekne city (Latvia) by a combination of observation, physical weighing, semi-structured interview approaches and statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA). We identified plate waste (including wasted beverages), which remains after the lunch of schoolchildren in grades 1–7, examining a total of 7064 lunch samples. The originality of the research is due to the fact that a unified menu was designed for the field study, which ensured the same field study conditions in all the schools. The results of the research revealed that the average weight of plate waste per schoolchild reached 178 g, and the total weight of plate waste accounted for 28.75% of the total weight of food served. No significant differences in plate waste weight between various age groups and grades of schoolchildren were found, which was also confirmed by a one-way ANOVA test. An analysis of plate waste by food category showed that beverages accounted for the largest share of total plate waste (42.24%), followed by staple food (28.38%) and meat (11.77%). An analysis of plate waste shares of food served (%) by food category revealed a similar situation: the largest share of food served was made up of beverages (37.56%), followed by staple food (36.48%) and meat (28.77%). An analysis of the monetary value of food waste showed that the average cost of plate waste (excluding beverage) per schoolchild was EUR 0.236, which represented 16.6% of the national and municipal funding of EUR 1.42 per portion. Given the research results, the authors have concluded that in order to reduce the amount of plate waste generated by Rezekne city schools, school menus should be based not only on the requirements prescribed by relevant legal acts but also on cooking processes that meet the requirements of modern consumers (learners), e.g., by following trends in cooking practices in society to make the learners interested in consuming school food.

Purpose and aim of the study: The aim of the research is to assess the environment of start-ups in the Latvian business and to find out the opinion of startup experts about factors influencing the start-ups. The tasks of the research are the following: Carry out a theoretical analysis of information about Latvian start-ups; To select and take the survey from experts of startups; To summarize results of surveys. Research period – December 2022 until February 2023. Design / Methodology / Approach: General scientific research methods used in the research: the monographic or descriptive research method, survey method and non-parametric statistic for rank correlation method Kendall's W (Kendall's coefficient of concordance).Main Findings: In research author concludes that the most important factors, which affects startups are financial management and finding/solving the real problem of the customer. Almost half of respondents considers that the regulatory framework in Latvia is complicated. Author concludes that strategic management skills and financial competencies are the most important competencies to start new entrepreneurship. In the performed calculation experts are relatively unanimous. Originality: The originality of the research is based on the increase the total number of startups and the dynamic development of start-up companies in Latvia. So far there are just few scientific articles in Latvia about the topic of start-ups. Startup expert interviews are very important in the industry, in order to evaluate the environment of startups.Implications: The article will promote startup research in Latvia.