I'll never forget our first event as Exeter Slow Food on Campus. It was fresher's week and our committee of three, with the support of some stalwart friends, were hopefully clutching hand drawn 'slow food' signs in our student bar praying that someone would turn up. Someone did turn up; the manager of the bar who politely asked us if we were complaining about a poor quality of service from his staff. We were so relieved when finally an eager master's student studying sustainability found us. We had our first member and the society became a reality.
Two terms, over 20 events and a lot of good food later we now have over 60 members with many non-members who show a great deal of interest in our events. It is not uncommon for our events to be sold out and for us to have to turn people away. For Green Week in February we organised a 'Come Veg with Me' in conjunction with Riverford and Exeter University Green Society. We sold 40 tickets but we could easily have sold double!
In addition, we're lucky here; the Slow Food in Devon is rich, diverse and plentiful. Real ales, a love local food shop, wine from Topsham vineyards, Exmoor ruby red beef and Bigbury bay Oysters are just some of the gems we've been able to explore. Through our society's founder, Freddie Dudbridge, we have built strong links with Slow Food Devon who have helped us out tremendously. We've also managed to make some links of our own and it seems local businesses are only too happy to help us out.
The students showing interest in Exeter's Slow Food on Campus are very mixed bunch. We range from master's students studying Food in the Ancient world or Food Security to first year Psychology undergraduates with a passion for cooking. I feel that the society is making a difference in helping students look beyond the supermarkets to embrace Devon's rich culture of Slow Food as well as having a great time whilst doing it. I see no reason why there should not be a Slow Food on Campus in every UK University. We've grown so much in just two terms and with a brand new committee and bags of enthusiasm, this next year we can only become even bigger and better and I cannot wait!