Due South donation heads north

 is a Brighton restaurant committed to supporting local producers and suppliers. And so are their customers. As Helen Smith, at Due South, points out, "People come here for our values."

For the last year the Due South has been inviting everyone who eats at the restaurant to add an extra pound per head to their bill to support charities that are involved with sustainable food production and distribution. So far, Due South's customers have donated around £20,000 to a variety of causes, including Fareshare, Compassion in World Farming and – recently – Sustain.
 
Sustain's practical and successful work in creating a more sustainable food system caught Helen's attention. For two months beginning early July, Due South invited customers to donate £1 to Sustain, raising just over £7,000. Helen wants to spread the word, "We'd like others to know what we did, and how easy it is for other restaurants to do this."
 
Sustain is very grateful to Due South and its discerning customers.  The money raised will help us to, for example:

• increase the proportion of healthy, local and sustainable food served in London's restaurants, through the London Food Link project; 
  
• introduce government regulations to protect children from junk food marketing and ensure all children get the opportunity to learn food skills in schools, by building the Children's Food campaign coalition; 
  
• provide practical support, from the Good Food on the Public Plate project, for hospitals, schools, care homes and other public sector caterers, who want to give their “customers” healthy, local and sustainable food.

This initiative by Due South follows in a long tradition of diners supporting charitable projects while they eat – see, for example, the long-running promotion by Pizza Express to support the Venice in Peril fund.  However, this is the first time Sustain has come across a restaurant and its customers supporting specifically food-related causes.  We hope it will catch on!

http://www.duesouth.co.uk/