For the past several years, the nonprofit KUSP has worked to combat food insecurity and boost urban agriculture on Norfolk’s Southside, such as hosting a community garden in Berkley.
A central part of its mission is to make local food systems sustainable, said Jay Boone, executive director of KUSP, or Keeping Us Secure and Prosperous.
That includes composting, or recycling organic waste such as leaves and food scraps into soil. But it’s not always easy for people to take on at home.
A new initiative bridges that gap. Compost for Change is a partnership between KUSP and Tidewater Compost, a company that offers subscription-based composting services.
“We can explain to people the process of composting, but if we're not actually giving them direct access, then it kind of is null and void,” Boone said. “So we’re holistically looking at it and how we can better serve the community and bring people on board.”
The groups hope to sponsor 100 families in Hampton Roads for composting services for at least a year.
Cameron Kania, CEO and founder of Tidewater Compost, said participating households are given a composting starter kit, which includes a 5-gallon bucket with an airtight lid and compostable liners.
People can toss in all sorts of kitchen and yard waste, such as eggshells, grass, coffee grounds, fruits and vegetables.
Because the company uses an industrial processing facility, it can also accept items beyond what a backyard bin would handle, Kania said. That includes meat, dairy, processed food, seafood, greasy pizza boxes, napkins, pasta and baking ingredients.
“The list goes on and on,” he said. “Because of that, we're able to help our members reduce their trash by up to 50% or more.”
People can then dump their buckets at one of 20 drop-off sites, including one near KUSP’s community garden at the Berkley Community Center.
The material goes to Drishti Compost’s processor in Pungo, Kania said. Tidewater Compost is working to open a facility in Chesapeake.
Twice a year, during the fall and spring planting seasons, participants receive a bag of finished compost that they can use at home or donate to community gardens, he said.
Boone said she loves using this organic fertilizer because it is full of nutrients and helps create a sustainable food feedback loop.
Composting also lowers greenhouse gas emissions by stopping organic waste from releasing methane as it breaks down at a landfill.
KUSP kicked off the program this month and already has a waitlist of interested people, she said. So far, they have funding to sponsor about 10 households and are hoping to raise about $10,000 to cover another 90 families by the end of next year.
Boone said she hopes the program kickstarts interest in composting and gardening.
“We're getting high-quality produce in communities that were never growing food before, and I think that's a great way for people to see that it’s possible,” she said. “It's a great way to get people's feet wet.”
Especially, she said, since people won’t have to do the dirty work.
