Our research

Student Eats Tracker

When we launched our food growing programme Student Eats in 2015, we conducted research among students to find out more about their eating habits and attitudes.  In 2016, we expanded the programme to support students to develop sustainable food enterprises and completed further research to update our understanding of attitudes and behaviours linked to sustainable food.

Our research demonstrated a latent demand among students for access to low-carbon, locally grown food, and many opportunities to support student-led growing sites across the UK - information which has guided our work in this area since. 

  • Over half of respondents said that they'd change their food purchasing habits if they knew more about how their decisions affected the environment.
  • The main reason students didn't grow their own food was lack of access to outside space.
  • Nearly 70 per cent of students agree that food production contributes to climate change.

Read the 2015 research.

In 2016, we started a tracker survey to support student sustainable food enterprises receiving funding and avdvice through our Student Eats programme. The national online survey looks at attitudes, awareness and behaviours linked to sustainable food issues, and has been completed by students studying in further and higher education across the UK in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. 

Read the most recent research.