If ever there is ever one thing that brings people together, it is food. And good thing too - as everyone can make a positive impact through the food choices they make.

Working with several partners over the last few years, we have gradually built a great set of actions for Green Impact that cover a wide variety of food issues and solutions. From food sharing initiatives, to 'bring and share' parties and ethical purchasing schemes, teams of staff and students have been tackling the issues head on.

This year we formalised our partnership with the Soil Association to add an extra level of rigour and incentive to our toolkit actions for catering teams. Several organisations are using this list within their toolkit, which now aligns perfectly with the Soil Association's Food for Life accreditation.

Why is this important? Well, we hope it cuts down some of the administrative pressure associated with running two parallel schemes, as well as encouraging catering departments to gain as much recognition as possible from their efforts to make positive changes. Participants are required to register with the Soil Association, but their work on Green Impact automatically translates into Food for Life accreditations. Neat!

If you are at the beginning of your sustainable food journey, then there is additional support available. The International Humane Society is offering free training to universities on everything from recipe building and cooking of plant-based meals, to planning menus and promotions across campus. You can find out more by emailing Claudia (ctarry@hsi.org).

Finally, we constantly see grassroots activity growing up from our student body. Why not see how you can tap into their food sharing projects, a local framers' market or buddy up with a local Real Junk Food Project? Food affects us all and is a great way to engage everyone in sustainability -whilst getting fed!