Veg Out!
30th January 2012
Categories: News
New Year sees fresh start for University of Chester’s “Veg Out” scheme
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From left to right: Siobhan Ford, James Taylor, Jade Hooper (Deputy VegOut Co-ordinator), Jenni Moss (VegOut Co-ordinator), Natasha Gibbins, Tilly Martin, Rebecca Gasche.
A student-led scheme that provides seasonal vegetables to students and staff at the University of Chester has grown to be a huge success.
Following its inception in January 2011 - including recognition through the National Union of Students Community Award won by the Chester Students’ Union – the Veg Out scheme has been re-launched for 2012.
Veg Out was set up by Jenni Moss (26 from Cowbridge, in South Wales), to provide local, seasonal vegetables at affordable prices to staff and students, reduce food waste which is a huge problem in the UK, increase awareness of seasonality while supporting local suppliers and the local economy and to reduce food miles – the distance food travels from production to consumer.
Jenni said: “As it’s a not-for-profit scheme, the bags of vegetables and boxes of eggs are very near to cost price. We sell boxes of six large, free-range eggs from a farm in north Wales for £1 and vegetable bags containing over 3kg of seasonal vegetables also from local suppliers, for just £3.50”.
“Some weeks we have sold 50 to 60 bags of veg and the same numbers of boxes of eggs”.
Jenni, a Human Nutrition student, originally created Veg Out through a passion for local seasonal food and her involvement in a University forum.
She explained: ”In my role as the student representative for the ‘Food4Life’ committee, I was able to express my wish to start up a veg bag scheme in the University. I was also the Chair of the People and Planet Society who encourage food co-ops. However, I felt a vegetable scheme would be more plausible as it wouldn’t require a permanent space to store dried foods. I was also keen to set up a volunteering opportunity for Nutrition and Dietetics students.”
The new academic year meant that new volunteers, organisation and effort were needed and, thanks to the endeavour of a number of students, the scheme has now been able to continue and reach its one-year anniversary, with the hope that it will continue on for much longer.
Jenni is currently working with the Students Union at Warrington Campus to roll the scheme out there in the coming weeks.
Jenni said: “I hope the scheme will continue after I complete my degree in June of this year, maintaining valuable links with the local community and providing a useful volunteering and educational opportunity for students at the University of Chester.”
She also pointed out that those involved not only help students, staff and the environment, they also help themselves, adding: “Volunteers develop skills in communication, time-management, teamwork, leadership and organisation.”
