Harper's college wins award for reducing food miles

Harper Adams University College has scooped the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development award for the way it is using the college farm to reduce food miles and beat the credit crunch.

The college has embraced the Fairtrade approach to the sourcing of certain food products, but its catering department has taken further steps to promote sustainability.

Since 2007, catering manager David Nuttall and head chef Wayne Wright have introduced more local food sourcing to reduce 'food miles' and support local food businesses.

To source foods in metres rather than miles, an obvious step was to widen the product range from the University College's own 343 hectare farm.

Examples include the use of pedigree Lleyn lamb, reared predominantly on grass in sites of high conservation value and pork provided from the farm's White Cross 'Pietrain' Belgium breed pigs. Eggs are obtained from the 60,000-hen Poultry Unit, whilst herbs are grown on the campus by the Grounds Manager, and supplied throughout the summer months. In 2009, Harper Adams hopes to obtain milk from the University College's new and expanded Dairy Unit.

Ann Mroz, editor of Times Higher Education, commented: "Harper Adams has shown real originality in counting food metres rather than food miles. The laudable idea of contributing to sustainable development through their catering department demonstrates that innovative solutions to tackling carbon emissions in universities are not only being mooted by academics, they are appearing in management initiatives as well."

Sara Parkin said Harper Adams won the award "not only for the novelty of the source of the nomination, but also for the transferability of the initiative and the breadth of engagement across the institution".

She added: "Whether your university catering is done in house or through a contract, Harper Adams is showing how sustainability can be built into every aspect, much more local provision of high quality produce, including from its own farm and fair trace sourcing are matched by a tremendous 70 per cent recycling score for everything from glass to cooking oil."

More than 130 institutions submitted entries for the 18 categories which included Best Student Experience, University of the Year, Outstanding Student Financial Support Package, Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community, Marketing Initiative of the Year and Outstanding Support for Disabled Students.

Harper Adams won the accolade at the Times Higher education Awards ceremony held on 23 October at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Words: Maria Bracken

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