Food Action Forum Group Meeting on 12 May 2010

Summary Notes and Actions of Inaugural Food Action Forum Group Meeting on 12 May 2010, 3rd floor Staff House, University of Birmingham


Attendance: Sue McLaren (SJMcL), Ed Sparkes (ES), Louise Sherratt (LS), Mark Houghton (MH), Kevin Herbert (KH), Jane Colbourne (JC), Adrian Blower (AB), Katie Ford (KF), Edd Bauer (EB), Laura Beckmann (LB) and Angela Smith (AS).

Apologies: Tom Guise (TG).

No. Item. Action.
1.0 Introductions:
• Sue McLaren opened the meeting and invited each member to introduce themselves.
2.0 Apologies:
• Please see above.
3.0 Membership and Terms of Reference:
• Terms of Reference were agreed by all present.

Review and Amendment of Current Membership:
• It was agreed that the membership should also included 2 members from the Residents Association. Ed Sparkes to advise.

ES
4.0 Update on Services:
Guild:
• Adrian Blower advised on the refurbishment that is taking place in the Retail and courtyard areas of the Guild. £4 million has been invested and the project is due be completed by July 2010.
• The group were advised that the food court has been designed to provide a more ‘upmarket’ feel, along the lines of “Zizzi’s” at a reasonable price. The bar is a multifunctional area able to deal with day and evening requirements.
• Coffee Nation machines will be fitted in membership services areas; these will be on same scale that is offered at the Main Library.
• Edd Bauer raised concerns over the ‘ethics’ of the Rain Forest Alliance which Coffee Nation promotes.
• A Chinese frozen and dry goods shop is opening in the Guild called ‘Fresh Asia’.

Catering:
• Sue spoke about the recent i-Graduate survey and advised that she would circulate the results to Adrian Blower once her copy had been returned.
• Coffee Tender – Peros has been appointed. University will provide fairtrade coffee in coffee shops. Starbucks will not be included as it’s under a different contract.
• Refurbishment works will begin in Staff House on the 1st and 2nd floor and hopefully will be ready for the start of the next academic session.
• Works will begin in University Centre in summer. Spar and 19 Gales will be relocating. The café area will be expanding and a mezzanine floor introduced to give a food court feel to the area. Café Spice will be a noodle type style of outlet. Mark confirmed that tofu and vegan options will be available. Mark also advised vegan meals are currently available in outlets, but only provided on request.
• Guild and University will work together to promote vegetarian and vegan foods on the new Campus Cooking site.
• New counters in Fusion have been well received.
• Catering prices will be review in August.
• I Lounge Café – café operation is planned to open in the Library at the start of the next academic year.
• Starbucks opening times will be reviewed for the exam period for next year.
• Meal Plan from September 2010 will be able to accept certain VAT items, i.e. orange juice and ice cream.
• Sue briefly spoke about the cashless card system and will give a full update at the AMG. Note: It would appear that the current EPOS system is unable to facilitate this functionality.
• Kevin and Ed spoke about the campus cooking project run by Tom White that will be launched in September offering residents a food diary system, cookery demonstrations, international films, shopping guide to Birmingham and much, much more. This initiative will be advertised on both Guild and University portals with the aim to targeting 1st year students.
• British Food Fortnight (18 Sept – 4 Oct) takes place over Welcome Week this year. Its aim is to promote British produce and local sustainable products. Mark hopes to have the Farmers Market on site during this promotion.

SJMcL

KH & ES
5.0 Any Other Business:
• It was agreed that Adrian and Sue would keep each other in the loop regarding research to save duplication and will look at the possibility of introducing ‘mystery shoppers’.
• Katie raised questions over the future of Avanti and was informed that it will be evaluated depending on the new structure of University Centre and Staff House. Sue advised that she was keen to keep the Chicken Joe brand as it is very popular.
• Jane Colbourne is in the process of writing FAQ’s and will include items regarding vegetarian and vegan food.
• Polystyrene plates and containers used in Avanti are receiving complaints. Catering is looking at introducing bio-degradable cardboard products. Guild is also exploring more environmentally friendly items.
• Jane C will advised on areas were Soya milk products available on campus.
• Sue will look at the offers in Avanti as comments regarding ‘healthiness’ have been received.
• Sue M thanked Ed, Edd and Katie for all their efforts with the formulation of this group and wished them well for the future – it was hoped to build on this group.
• Van sales of local produce are to be investigated for the residential sites.

AB & SJMcL
JC
JC
SJMcL

Date of Next Meeting: To be arranged. Group wishes to meet in July 2010.