Greater choice and healthy eating are set to appear over the coming years on the menu of fewer, larger campus cafes - which will have extended opening hours.
The review
The views of nearly 1,200 members of staff and students have provided input to a large-scale review of catering at Sussex. A team from the Russell Partnership, the higher education sector’s leading strategic consultancy on catering and retail, held a mix of individual and open meetings in the summer, and carried out an online questionnaire, to better understand what staff and students are looking for from catering on campus.
The Partnership were also able to bring valuable external experience of the catering provided at more than 60 other UK campuses, and their understanding of how demand for food is likely to develop and change in the future. They say, for example, that ethically and locally sourced food is increasingly important as people make choices that take account of their impact on the planet.
The findings
Their findings at Sussex confirm that there is a real opportunity to improve provision on campus. And these findings are not just based on the comments they’ve received; the hard statistical evidence is that staff and students Sussex spend less on campus than is typical elsewhere – suggesting there is significant unmet need.
There was also a strong message from staff that they need somewhere on campus where they can entertain visitors – with many staff currently having to go off campus to Lewes or Brighton instead.
The proposals
Based on the findings and recommendations for future improvements, the University is proposing a significant development of catering provision over the coming five years.
The proposed changes are designed to provide greater choice, extended opening hours and a better mix of food provision.
To help provide this, the plan will provide for fewer, larger cafes spread across the campus, in the optimum locations for different groups of staff and students. This model could help to bring people together from different departments.
The next phase of the work will be to plan out changes required to Bramber House – bringing in up-to-date equipment, fitting a new kitchen space, bringing a new café to the ground floor and modernising the restaurant space on the first floor.
The University will also be looking to identify the best possible space for high-quality dining – with the idea of using some of the Gardner Centre being discussed, which could fit well with future development of the building for social or academic use.
The timetable
Development of the cafes across campus will take time to roll out, with plans developed on an area by area basis.
In the short term, the new style of provision will be showcased in one location in the next academic year - so that staff and students can try for themselves what is proposed.
Plans will be shaped up over the coming months, with the first new developments being made in readiness for 2009-10, depending on the levels of investment required.
Further information
For more information, see www.sussex.ac.uk/catering/review.