Food and drink news

Participants voted by placing two coffee beans in the jars representing their favourite charities

The Arts Piazza team counted the beans to reveal the winning charities

Making every sip count

Arts Piazza’s new coffee partner, Social Impact Coffee, is a small specialty roastery driven to make a positive social change.

The roastery, which has sustainability at the core of their practices, ensures 65% of the sales from the coffee beans we purchase goes directly to support local causes of our choice.

Choosing the causes closest to our heart

Earlier in the month, we asked students and staff to vote for their preferred charities using a coffee-bean-in-a-jar system, to help us choose the campus community’s two most valued special causes.

Those voting could choose between Martlets, Brighton Permaculture Trust, Surfers Against Sewage or Rockinghorse.

You voted, we counted

In total, 2,138 coffee beans were counted and we’re happy to share that, for the remaining of 2025, Social Impact Coffee will be donating 65% of the sales from the coffee beans Arts Piazza buys to Surfers Against Sewage and Rockinghorse.

Surfers Against Sewage, which received 946 votes, is a local grassroots environmental charity dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife.

Rockinghorse, which received 710 votes, is a charity funding and delivering life-saving equipment, specialist projects and enhanced services for sick babies, children and young people throughout Sussex.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who voted – continue to visit Arts Piazza for your caffeine fix, knowing every coffee you buy supports an important cause.  

The selection process will be repeated annually in the winter, and you'll have the opportunity to vote for different charities each year.

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