The community farm, now over 10 years old, is split into growing fields, woodland, gardens and a sales yard, with each part of the social enterprise acting as a hands-on training ground to help adults facing exclusion or barriers to independent living.

One of the most unique aspects of the venture is that it allows those involved to see their work, and the produce cultivated, through from plot to plate. Much of the food grown at Nourish’s farm is used as ingredients at the 20/20 café at the East Brighton Community Mental Health Centre, providing a rewarding working environment for its members and helping to cut down on food miles.

Work in the cafe, including everything from food preparation and menu planning to customer service, also counts towards vocational qualifications such as NVQs, offering service users a real leg-up for future employment opportunities.

A rightly popular venture, Nourish is well-connected within our local area, counting the Food Partnership Brighton and Hove (B&H), City College B&H and B&H Business Community Partnership among its partners, and seeks to give back to the community wherever possible.

Local businesses, which in the past have included American Express, The Argus and Ink Fish, are encouraged to use the farm for team-building exercises, inspiring better working practices through tasks that range from weeding to installing irrigation systems. And the Nourish team is currently creating a range of platters, sandwiches and snacks for meetings and events from locally grown and prepared food, sourcing as much of the ingredients as possible from within Sussex and the community farm.

www.nourishcic.co.uk

“The majority of food is sourced locally to minimise our carbon footprint and support local trade,” she says. “We choose the very best organic, free range and biodynamic ingredients from small independent producers within Sussex. Due South is also extensively involved in re-using, recycling, and supporting local educational and community projects.”

Delivering an environmentally friendly and ethical service is something everyone at Due South is passionate about, and it goes much further than the usual lip service to green issues. They aim to source at least 80% of their food from within a 35 mile radius of Brighton beach, and often undertake farm visits to ensure high standards of animal welfare and natural farming methods. Any food that can’t be sourced locally, such as chocolate, is Fair Trade.

Victoria says: “We have a close relationship with the local fish supplier and are very conscious of what fish is sustainable. Likewise our wine, beer and soft beverages are sourced in the UK and Europe. We try to keep things as ‘in house’ as possible such as doing our own laundry (as there is a lot!) and baking our own bread from local flour.”

Due South were the first restaurant to bottle their own filtered water and take a £1 donation which goes towards funding clean drinking water projects across the globe. They recycle their cooking oil and compost green waste. Community work has seen them sourcing salad from a Stanmer Organics growing project and donating a shed to Patcham High School allotments.

Victoria says: “Overall we are proud of our attitude towards doing good business that has a positive impact on the environment and the local community. We aim to continually improve our eco credentials and keep up to date with what is available to us to enable us to practice as an ethical company. The food industry has such an impact on sustainability so recognising what we can do as a company is really important to us and our customers. “

www.duesouth.co.uk