This year’s national Fairtrade Fortnight aimed to highlight the lack of food security for farmers across the world. Using the slogan ‘Sit down for breakfast, stand up for farmers’, the campaign raised awareness of the fact that many farmers who provide the western world with food, cannot afford to feed their own families.
To support the initiative, City’s Sustainability Team hosted a series of events and activities ranging from breakfast bars and afternoon teas, to a visit from a Fairtrade coffee grower’s daughter. The coffee farm Franceska Salazar Hilaconda’s family runs in Peru provides the coffee beans for Sodexo, one of City’s catering providers. During her visit, Franceska gave a short talk about her family’s business and the impact Fairtrade can have on the lives of smallholder farmers.
Throughout the fortnight, a series of stalls were posted along the University’s main walkway, providing information about Fairtrade and selling a range of products. Staff also held their own events, including bake sales and awareness quizzes.
City has been accredited as a Fairtrade University since 2010 and is committed to using Fairtrade products across campus. This ensures farmers and workers in developing countries receive a fair wage, have safer conditions at work and extra income that can help them to work their way out of poverty.
Nilufar added: “Farming is the backbone of the world. It’s simply wrong that whilst farmers work hard to produce what we eat so many of them should go hungry themselves.
For more information about Fairtrade and for ideas on how to raise awareness of Fairtrade, visit the sustainability blog.