At Kent we bring world-leading expertise in health and
wellbeing, social justice, inequalities and conflict, sustainability,
environment and natural resources. Through the Right to Food project we will
bring this to bear on regional, national and global challenges.
Positive Environmental Futures
One of our Signature Research Themes is Positive
Environmental Futures which has recently begun its work to find solutions to some of the most urgent
environmental issues facing the world today, including food inequality.
Kent is known as the Garden of England, with outstanding agricultural
produce and acres of land dedicated to food production.
We are at the heart of
developments to strengthen Kent as the leading region for the production and
processing of high-value foods and plant-based compounds.
Through Growing Kent & Medway, we are
introducing wide-ranging advances in horticulture that are shaping the
way produce is grown and supplied. We use national funding to drive
innovation, commercialisation and novel training programmes in the
region, which is home to over 40% of UK high-value horticultural
production and a key gateway to global markets.
The University will use these key strengths as well as its
wider role in the region to harness the region’s strengths in food production,
handling and distribution, working with industry partners to support innovation
and sustainability in the production of affordable nutrient-rich foods and
plant-based products.
Kent Community Oasis Garden
The Kent Community Oasis Garden (KentCOG) is a multiuse space for students, staff and the local community run in partnership with East Kent Mind. It is a community
resource to
create a sustainability hub centred around growing food. It is mostly used to
grow fruit and vegetables, with volunteers having input about which crops they
would most like to try.
There is also a commercial side to the garden’s
sustainability, with the café at the Gulbenkian
Arts Centre being a ready market for the salads, tomatoes and other produce
grown in the garden. This also helps the venue with its sustainability goals,
drastically reducing overall food miles.
It has been exciting to work with staff and the students’ union to help create a healthy, sustainable university. Already we have seen more availability of subsidised meals, communal eating events and an expansion of land for food growing on campus."
The Cost of Living Crisis
While the Right to Food initiative is focussed on the
systemic and structural aspects of our access to food, there are, however,
close links between these and the current crisis around the cost of living and
the price of basic foodstuffs. The project is working closely with students and
staff to understand the impact of the crisis, working with suppliers to
mitigate its impact, and supporting actions to support students and staff,
including initiatives to provide low-cost nutritious meals, increase hardship
funding and provide flexible catering packages.
