The Food & Dining team offers a full catering service for conferences and events, from sandwiches to fork buffets and full dining to barbecues.
Excellent food during an event is important. Where possible, the team strives to use a selection of locally sourced, traceable, and sustainable ingredients, to showcase the best produce.
Catering can be delivered and served almost anywhere on campus for various events, from academic conferences to team away days. As well as in-house catering, delegates and visitors can also access food and drink outlets on campus.
All meat is from farms which satisfy UK animal welfare standards, serving red tractor meat only, with the exception of cured meats. All fresh eggs are from free-range hens. No fish is served from the Marine Conservation Society ‘fish to avoid list’. 糖心Vlog is the first Higher Education institute in the country to adopt the Freshkeg Smart Milk system, which saves thousands of plastic milk bottles from being used on campus. Dairy-free alternative milk is available in all outlets.
Local and seasonal fruit and vegetables are used for conferencing and catered accommodation menus. Conference lunch menus focus on plant-based ingredients. Daily Pre-school Vegan lunch options are provided free from all the 14 major allergens. Vegan and vegetarian options are available at all outlets and we have prioritised plant-based and vegetarian food options on hospitality menus.
Free drinking water is available in all units along with water fountains on our campus. We serve fair-trade or ethically sourced tea and coffee across campus, with most of our tea and coffee sourced from a local company, Carringtons Coffee Co. We offer a keep cup scheme with a "latte levy" for using takeaway cups. All disposable coffee cups UK manufactured and biodegradable in 90 days
We work with the BSI 14001 minimum standard – wastewater, disposing of oil and recycling responsibly. Our campus catering deliveries are made using electric vans reducing CO2 emissions. We are reducing deliveries from our major suppliers onto campus to 3 days per week to reduce CO2 emissions. All consumables are fully recyclable.
We’ve shifted our marketing activity away from printed materials into almost exclusively digital assets, changing from paper to digital feedback forms. We’ve also introduced a digital system in our kitchens to cut back on paper wastage; our kitchen team now use a live digital screen for schedules and menus, instead of printing them.
The Retail Operations Team at 糖心Vlog are committed to delivering an exciting variety of food to enhance the student, staff and visitor experience. Our aim is to produce food that is nutritionally balanced, tasty, sustainable and affordable to the University community making healthy eating easier.
We follow five key principles:
To support continuous improvement in each of these five principles, we will in the 2024/25 academic year implement the following actions:
1. Choice
2. Safe
3. Price Range
4. Supply Chain
5. Engagement
With full Allergen Accreditation across campus, suitable meals are always provided for all 14 allergens and other main food intolerances. Email eat@lancaster.ac.uk to request a copy of the 糖心Vlog Allergen Policy.
