Tag Archives: SpudFest

SpudFest 2025!

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On Thursday 28th November the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES) hosted SpudFest, transforming the Boiler House into potato heaven. From research posters and company stalls to a potato-printing art station, the event brought together students, colleagues and local partners for a fun and informative day.

Why?

As part of their research, SNES has collaborated with NU Farms to drive innovation in plant and crop science. Every year, University farms Cockle Park Farm and Nafferton Farm grow tonnes of potatoes for research. When harvest season ends, rather than letting the produce go to waste, SNES shares the potatoes with the University community through SpudFest.

Over 1000 people attended the event this year, and over two tonnes of potatoes were given away!

Eat@Newcastle

One of the highlights of the day was the complimentary food samples, courtesy of Eat@Newcastle. The wedges and potato soup were fan favourites, drawing long queues of students and colleagues throughout the day.

Sustainability

Our team had a stand at the event to talk all things sustainability. Alongside us, Annita from Biffa highlighted the environmental impact of food waste with some eye-opening statistics:

  • Food waste contributes to 8% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
  • UK households throw away 4.4 million fresh potatoes every day.
  • Every day, 20 million slices of bread are thrown away. This is equivalent to a million loaves wasted daily!

Top Tips:
To keep your potatoes fresher for longer, store them somewhere cool, dry, dark – and away from onions. If they’re starting to look a little old, boil them for five minutes and freeze them. They’re perfect for roasting later! Also:

Men’s Pie Club

North east charity Men’s Pie Club joined the event to raise awareness of their mission to bring local men together over good food and friendly conversation.

‘It’s all about making pies, having a laugh, and getting to know a great bunch of lads in a relaxed, no-fuss environment.’ – Men’s Pie Club

Find out more about the club, here.

There was also a table to donate food items to the local foodbank! A great way to give back to the community.

SpudFest 2025 brought together research, sustainability, wellbeing and community spirit in one brilliant event. Huge thanks to SNES and Katy Sawyer for organising the event.

We are already looking forward to next year’s celebration of all thing’s potato!

SpudFest 2024: Celebrating Potatoes, Innovation and Community Impact

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On Thursday 28th November, the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (SNES) hosted SpudFest. With over 1000 visitors, many have labelled it the “best event of the year.” From mini games to research stalls, the Boiler House was transformed into a potato haven. Read on to learn more about the event, its successes and its partners!

NU Farms

As part of their ground-breaking research, SNES has collaborated with NU Farms to drive innovation in plant and crop science. Every year, University farms – Cockle Park Farm and Nafferton Farm – grow tonnes of potatoes for research. When ready for harvest instead  of contributing to food waste, SNES generously share their excess potatoes with the university community at SpudFest every year. This year over two tonnes of potatoes were given away!

Image: SpudFest attendees gather around tables, collecting NU Farm potatoes. 

Eat@Newcastle

One of the highlights of the day were  the complimentary food samples, courtesy of Eat@Newcastle. The spiced wedges and the creamy potato soup were fan favourites, attracting long lines of students and colleagues. In total, 200kg of NU Farm potatoes were used in the catering!

Verti-Tech Innovation Hub for Vertical Farming

At SpudFest, you may have noticed the vertical potato growing in display cases. These are a contribution of the Verti-Tech Innovation Hub, the newest partnership between Newcastle University and Fyto  Engineering. Verti-Tech is a scheme that supports sustainable agricultural research and innovation in the heart of Newcastle. Aimed at both the commercial and academic sector, Verti-Tech facilitates growth trials, nutrient testing, LED lighting research, and more!

Image: The Verti-Tech stand, embellished with glass cases of sprouting potatoes.

Newcastle West End Foodbank

The Newcastle West End Foodbank also participated in the event, successfully raising awareness of their cause:

“Thank you for inviting Newcastle Foodbank along to your event last week.  We received a generous number of both financial and physical donations, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to meet people and raise awareness of our work.”

All remaining potatoes from the farms were distributed to families in need with the help of Newcastle Food Bank.

Food Waste Awareness

Lastly, the Sustainability Team and Biffa made an impact at SpudFest, raising awareness on food waste issues. The Sustainability Team was especially proud to unveil new food waste caddies – coming soon to a university accommodation kitchen near you. Annita Clark from Biffa shared shocking food waste stats, including the fact that 4.4 million fresh potatoes are thrown away by UK homes every day!

Other highlights of the event included  potato caricatures courtesy of Damon, the potato prints station, the presentation on historic potato cultivation, and the potato costumes worn by the enthusiastic SNES team. SpudFest was even featured in an interview on Spice FM, solidifying its status as the trendiest event of the year! We’re already counting down the days till the next SpudFest – long live the humble potato!

Image: (From left to right) The SpudFest celebrations included historic potato presentations, the potato painting station, and fun potato costumes.

I’d like to give a big thank you to the SNES team for organising such a well-thought out and enjoyable event. I would also like to thank Katy Sawyer, for not only leading the SpudFest plans, but for providing me with the statistics and photos for this post. If you want to find out more about the research SNES do, click here.

Thank you for reading!