Sussex students are hosting free, food-related talks this week as part of a summer-long project to make and grow ingredients for a feast. 

The talks have been organised by the student-led team working on the Growing a Feast project - one of five projects chosen in May to share a £10,000 University fund to promote sustainability. 

Bids of up to £2,000 were invited from groups of students, working with academic staff, to fund initiatives or activities that will promote or embed sustainability in the curriculum or some related area. 

Postgraduate students and staff from two schools – Global Studies and Media, Film and Music – are recruiting a network of people around Brighton and Hove to grow or make a single food ingredient over the summer – anything from planting vegetables and growing herbs to baking bread or ageing cheese.

A chef will use these ingredients to prepare a feast on campus on 7 September. 

As part of the project, local experts will talk to staff, students and members of the public on campus this Friday (9 August) about food waste, honey and beekeeping, and permaculture. 

Then on Saturday (10 August) NEST café in Kensington Gardens, Brighton, will host a discussion about the sustainability of coffee. 

Jane Feeney, a postgraduate student in International Development, is one of the project’s co-ordinators. She said: “Just growing a single tomato has the capacity to alter how we think about eating tomatoes. So we think this kind of simple, grown feast could spark a much broader interest in sustainable food. It's a baseline. 

“There's still time for people to join us in growing a feast - now's the time for growing autumn lettuce, making cider or jam! Join our facebook group for ideas and tips.” 

For more information and to get involved, join the Growing a Feast Facebook group. 

A task force has been set up to drive forward progress in embedding sustainability in the curriculum at Sussex, to ensure that all students leave their courses with the skills and knowledge to understand and address sustainability issues in their future careers. 

For more information, visit Sussex’s Education for Sustainable Development website.