Recognising diversity with our food offering
By: Ellie Evans
Last updated: Monday, 25 March 2024
With more than 130 countries represented on our campus, it’s vital that the food on sale in our cafes reflects the diversity of our community.
What you told us
When we conducted our extensive consultation at the end of last year, 41% of the 2,080 students who responded were international students. Around 13% of the total 3,200 respondents who took part identified as vegan, with a further quarter saying they were vegetarian (plus 7% pescetarian). Just over a tenth followed a halal diet and more than 10% were dairy free, with nearly 8% gluten free.
When we asked how well the current provision met their needs in terms of nutritional requirements linked to culture and faith, where applicable the majority said it fully met their needs.
Among the requests were for more cultural foods in the £2 deal, African foods, Eastern European options, Asian choices and orthodox Christian food. This was echoed in the focus groups we held, where both students and staff expressed a wish for more international options on the menu.
Working hard to meet everyone’s needs
Our catering colleagues are launching a wealth of new items on the menus in our eateries from next month. The newly renamed Veg Bowl @ Dhaba will offer delicious plant-forward poke bowls along with other healthy and nutritious vegetarian and vegan options, and we are investigating the possibility of introducing a ‘No Gluten Containing Ingredients’ (NGCI) menu where, though it cannot be guaranteed that dishes are gluten-free, it comprises no gluten-containing ingredients.
Our new foodie forums, and our catering partners’ student food ambassadors, will be key to helping further define the future of food here at Sussex, whether that’s researching regional variations of jollof rice or suggesting themes for tasty pop-ups around the campus.
We will be offering at least one dish a day in Eat Central that contains halal meat in addition to the halal chicken option at Tortilla; we will also be providing halal meat on request as part of our hospitality service and adding a halal sandwich to the regular range. And when local food vendors come to campus, we will verify which caters for halal diets so that all our campus is included.
Have we missed something?
We really want to know what you think about these changes and our future service: you can email bettercampus@sussex.ac.uk with your views, or join the conversation on our dedicated food group on staff social network Viva Engage.
We are looking for both staff and students to join in our new foodie forums and share your views, both in person and online via short surveys from time to time. If you would like to take part, please fill in this very short online form.