Sustainable food

Our producers and suppliers

• We promote the best of the West Country: almost 56% of our suppliers are based in Devon and Cornwall and 60% from the South West of England. View a map of our food suppliers.
• Our Reservoir Café is a Vegetarian Society accredited outlet, and over 50% of our dishes across our cafes are vegetarian or vegan. All of our cafés provide vegetarian and vegan options and dietary requirements, as well as dairy-free alternative milks. Our seasonal fruit and vegetable supplier is based in Saltash and sources from the South West.
• All our meat is grass-fed and British with our beef, pork and chicken coming from an Exeter family butcher. It is Red Tractor certified, with the majority being sourced from the South West.
• Since 2015 we have been using a local fish supplier who sources produce from Plymouth and Brixham fish markets and is empowered to provide fish that is plentiful on the day and either MSC certified or from boats that are part of the Responsible Fishing Scheme. The boats are small day boats, and many of them are rod and line. This supports the local fishing industry, removes air miles and increases quality. By using a local supplier we are also able to inform customers what the fish is, which boat it was caught on and where it was landed.
• Our fresh milk is from Trewithen Dairy in Cornwall. We have five milk pergals across the campus cafes which minimises plastics; one milk pergal saves seven single-use plastic bottles, allowing us to save over 1,870 two-litre bottles so far.
• Our free-range eggs and bread are also sourced from Cornwall. Our artisan bakers, Rise Bakery and Westcounty Bakery, are based seven miles from campus, baking fresh sourdough and tiger bread loaves.
• Building loyalty with our local suppliers is integral to our operations to provide transparency in the food and drink we serve. That’s why we include quality ingredients from Cornish sea salt to organic fresh flour, and more in our food preparation.
• We stock fairtrade and organic coffee beans throughout our cafes.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

• As of January 2018, there has been a reduction in the use of almost 105,000 disposable cups since implementing our 20p discount. To complement this, we also sell One Plymouth reusable cups, where a donation also goes to the National Marine Aquarium.
• Simply Cups is the first dedicated cup collecting and recycling scheme in the UK and offers a recycling solution to the ‘unrecyclable’ coffee cup along with all types of paper and plastic disposable cups. To date, the staff and students on campus have recycled approximately 1,600 cups a month since the scheme's inception (as of June 2022). Our alternative takeaway disposables are biodegradable.
• Leftover food is used for soups and stocks, while unusable food is collected and taken to the anaerobic digester at Langage Farm. Due to our food waste being carefully monitored and stock ordered in fresh every few days, there is very little near/on date food that is wasted. Any consumable food waste left is donated to Trevi House, a local women’s and children's refuge.
• We have introduced the Too Good to Go app which focuses on selling food that would otherwise have been thrown out at the end of the day to try and reduce food waste as much as possible. To date we have saved 271 meals – equivalent to 677.5kg of CO2e.
• Underpinning the University’s commitment to sustainability, one of our new cafes is in a former shipping container within the Roland Levinsky Building, with seating in the building’s atrium, and is aptly named the Container.
• Our refreshed Sustainable Food Plan 2020–25 confirms our continued commitment to sustainable and healthy food provision on campus. It aligns with Government guidelines for health and sustainable eating as detailed by the Good Food Guide and supports a number of key measures outline in Part One of the National Food Strategy. 

Where can I refill my water bottle?

• Drake’s Cafe
• Roland Levinsky Building north stairs or east lift lobbies
• Scott Building ground floor, west corridor
• The House ground and first floor
• Cookworthy ground floor and room 417
• Library 1st floor newspaper room and 3rd floor room 312
• John Bull Building.
• UPSU Roof
• UPSU The Hive
• UPSU 1st floor advice centre
• Smeaton 3rd floor, west wing
• Rolle ground floor
• Rolle Plaza Marquee

Tamar Valley Food Hub collection point at Drake’s Café