Sustainable Food
Ensuring access to sustainable and affordable food across campus, and managing our impacts on the environment with sustainable choices.
1st October 2018 saw the launch of the University’s first ever sustainable food strategy, which provided a road map for increasing the sustainability of our food offering from field to fork and beyond. The plan was reviewed and refreshed for the second time in 2023 to better reflect the key activities needed within the context of increasingly complex supply chains and complimentary University initiatives such as Right to Food. The action plan supports the University’s overall response to the climate crisis and meets ever increasing demand for more sustainable options across our menus.
The action plan is delivered by each of the catering outlets and overseen by the Sustainable Food Steering Group comprised of representatives from catering, procurement, waste, Kent Union and the sustainability team.
A fresh look at the action plan will take place in 2025.
There are plant-based options available at all of our catering outlets. As part of our sustainable food action plan we are working towards a third of our offering being plant-based or customisable to plant-based.
We have developed our own global micro-brands which feature in our Grab-and-Go range and as stand-alone pop-up outlets. Our 'Silence of the Yams' brand is 100% plant-based.
We also offer a plant-based loyalty card where you can get your 10th plant-based meal for free. Pick one a card at any of our outlets.
Food waste is segregated from other waste and picked up by by our waste contractor Biffa. Food waste is then broken down through anaerobic digestion into biogas and nutrient-rich fertiliser. Students can help this process by making sure they put food waste into the correct bin in their kitchens.
We are constantly reviewing the amount of single-use plastics we use as part of our catering offering. We offer discounts when you use your own coffee cup and we are increasing the amount of access to water so you can fill up your own bottles around campus. The Gulbenkian has dramatically reduced the amount of single-use plastics in its operations and we are using their experience to apply what we can to our other outlets.