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Student caterers at Walsall College attend sustainable food workshop
Students at Walsall College, in the West Midlands, recently enjoyed an interactive workshop about sustainable food. The session – from the Soil Association and Cool Food Pro – encouraged these future caterers to think about food that’s good for people and planet, from the very start of their catering careers.
Walsall College is committed to sustainability and encourages its students and staff to follow environmentally friendly practices too. Everyone enrolled on its Level 2 Diploma in Patisserie and Confectionery course is given an awareness of sustainability as early as possible in their catering journeys. After all, these future caterers will eventually prepare large amounts of food for customers at an array of venues. Their commitment to sustainability will significantly reduce the environmental impact of this food.
Lecturer Rebecca Bourne connected with Cool Food Pro and organised for Deborah Taylor, the scheme’s Sustainable Catering Project Manager, to hold a workshop at the further education facility. Every student from the Level 2 Diploma in Patisserie and Confectionery course attended the workshop – and left with an enhanced understanding of sustainable food.
“Our students might not immediately implement what they’ve learned, but in a few years’ time they’ll take what they’ve discovered about sustainability into their roles in the catering industry,” says Rebecca.
A variety of activities, including quizzes, bingo and a food waste exercise all kept the students interested and engaged. Resources used in the food waste activity were provided by Deloitte. During the workshop the group also found out more about Cool Food Pro and were guided through how to use its calculator. They also discovered more about the Soil Association – one of the partners in the project – and discussed issues around environmentally friendly food.
Students from the course will soon showcase their workshop at a college-wide event on sustainability. This is just one of the education provider’s initiatives to create an environmentally friendly college.
Other projects at the college include a sustainability group, an on-site garden where fruit and vegetables are grown, and a Future Foodies programme, set up with Walsall Council.
The council has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, working with the Soil Association’s Food for Life programme since 2017 to make good food the norm in schools and early years settings across the borough. Between 2017 and 2024, 19,233 children have benefitted from Food for Life activities in their school or nursery. In recent years, this work has moved beyond the school gates and into the local community, through a variety of projects. It’s certainly been a shared – and successful – effort to make good food the norm across Walsall.
This session was very enlightening. I have been aware of the effect of CO² emissions on our environment, but I was shocked to find out just how much is produced. We took part in a couple of quizzes that were fun and interesting. I will definitely try harder to not waste food in order to protect our future and reduce climate change.
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