Recipient Organization
CIUDAD SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
100 SUN AVE NE RM 160
ALBUQUERQUE,NM 87109
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Nationwide, over one-third of food is wasted (USEPA). New Mexico's combination of an arid climate, rural and diverse population, and high poverty rate (18%, U.S. Census) present unique challenges to successfully initiate composting at scale and decrease food waste. However, these same factors make local composting and food waste reduction critical in NM to improve soil health and water retention on farms and increase the amount of nutritious food available for low-income and disadvantaged communities. Lack of knowledge or time can prevent farmers from adequately composting their waste (personal interviews). Currently, no municipalities offer food waste collection and private composting services and the few curbside-composting options that exist in cities are expensive. The Lancaster Composting Co-ops (Pennsylvania) and Reunity Resources (Santa Fe, NM) are successful examples of community- and urban farm-scale composting. However, written case studies are needed that can serve as a guide for developing locally adapted composting and food waste reduction (CFWR) projects. Cultivating Collaborative Composting in New Mexico (CCCNM) will develop a community composting co-op (CCC) site and a farm compost hub (FCH) site and write up freely shared case studies based on these and other regional community composting efforts. ?CCCNM creates two self-sustainable compost pilots and provides sharable case studies and a state-wide digital resource hub to pave the way for increasing composting in arid climates as a vital component of maintaining healthy soils in these areas. The project builds on approaches that have proven successful to address existing social, educational, and climatic challenges.Ciudad SWCD, in partnership with other members of the NM Compost Coalition and community partners, seeks to fund a part-time compost coordinator to oversee the project. The compost coordinator will provide compost and food waste reduction training, lead a cost-benefit analysis, and prepare a final, sharable report and toolkit for the two pilots. Other tasks include, additional outreach as able, materials and labor to install one community composting system and scale up one urban farm composting system, and to inform the expansion of an existing state-wide digital resource hub (AgriGate), which will include existing composting sites and share the pilot project lessons, successes, and materials.The CCC and FCH pilots are designed and sited to prioritize, support, and involve community members from historically underserved communities. The community-scale compost bin will be centrally located in the Santa Barbara-Martineztown Community Garden (Figure 3), in a community identified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST; Figure 2), and near services for unhoused people. Similarly, the farm-scale composting system located at the Indigenous Farm Hub (IFH) will offer a centralized place to compost organic wastes generated on nearby farms. The IFH team, run by and serving indigenous people from various sovereign nations living and working in the Albuquerque area, will receive training to generate quality compost to be returned to participating farmers. The IFH will have two farm residue streams: seconds produce--edible produce that is not visually appealing enough to sell--and inedible waste, which will be used to make compost. The seconds received will be transformed into value-added products at Three Sisters Kitchen and will then be distributed to families and communities in need.In collaboration with project partners, the compost coordinator will provide educational and operational support to effectively establish the compost plots and provide needed training and mentorship to people who will be caring for them long-term. The compost coordinator will write case studies to be shared on AgriGate and by community partners. The case studies will illuminate the community, economic, and environmental benefits of the pilot projects and other established community composting systems and will include other shareable materials.CCCNM's design was informed by other successful programs, including the Lancaster Composting Co-ops, which exemplifies community-scale composting, and Reunity Resources, a regional example of urban farm-scale composting. Funds will support key steps in the process, including encouraging better utilization of food resources before they become waste, efficiently composting what is wasted, thoughtful application of the compost to eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers and build healthy soils, and case study development and distribution. This comprehensive approach will allow for the long-term success of the two pilots and help other communities to begin or expand composting and food waste reduction efforts.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
0%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal for CCCNM is to effectively increase food waste reduction efforts, food waste diversion, and composting across New Mexico and the US through community-focused, collaborative efforts that are documented and shared freely. The project goal has important environmental, social, and economic components that are integrated into the project design and strongly align with the CFWR purposes and priorities and USDA's Executive Priorities (Table 1).Environmentally, the program seeks to create better waste management pathways by diverting organic waste from landfills, and turning it into high-quality compost that can be used to fertilize local gardens and farms, which will promote the protection of public health and the environment by enhancing soil health, water retention, and carbon sequestration. Composting organic materials mitigates climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and decreasing strain on landfills.Socially, the program seeks to cultivate environmentally centered civic engagement and equip residents and local farmers with the skills and tools they need to effectively reduce food loss and waste, and to make and use compost. To give participants these tools, CCNM applies multiple strategies in EPA's Food Recovery Hierarchy (Table 1), including source reduction, feeding hungry people, and composting.Economically, the project focuses funds on sites that will serve historically underserved neighborhoods, beginning indigenous farmers, and others. CCCNM allows agricultural producers easier and cheaper access to compost by making it available for free to participants. Diverted food waste will help feed low-income and disadvantaged families through value-added products and improved fertility of community gardens.The following goals and objectives are set to ensure each pilot meets the project goals.Community Compost Co-op Goals and Objectives(1) The CCC will serve 25 households, diverting 1,125 lbs of food waste in the first year of operation, which by the third year of operations (about 1.5 years after the grant period) will build on established ties to serve 75 households and divert 33,750 lbs of food waste each year (Lancaster Composting Co-ops whitepaper).(2) The CCC will increase food security for Martineztown residents and neighbors by increasing resident engagement in the community garden and CCC and generating compost to fertilize community and residential gardens to provide fresh produce to Martineztown residents.(3) The CCC will provide education on sustainability issues, composting, and ways to reduce food waste and the associated economic benefits ($1,500 per year for an average family) for at least 50 Martineztown residents by providing educational materials and facilitating discussions at orientation and workshops.Farm Compost Hub Goals and Objectives(1) IFH staff to divert 20 cubic yards of farm, coffee, and brewery waste and residues each week from June to October in the second year of the grant (440 cubic yards total). This will be done by enrolling ten farms to participate in the farm compost hub pilot, continuing existing partnership with New Mexico Piñon Coffee, and securing partnership with a brewery.(2) Infrastructure improvements will increase soil organic matter, all else equal, while decreasing external inputs of participating farms after five years. During the grant period, compost coordinator will educate farmers (including beginning indigenous farmers) on proper compost application and related soil health practices, generate 132 cubic yards of compost in the first year after infrastructure improvements, and distribute generated compost to farms proportional to inputs received.(3) IFH will double the volume of value-added nutritious food products going to food insecure communities and families by accepting a separate stream, alongside farm residues for composting, for edible but unsellable produce from participating farmers. IFH will also continue to expand efforts to create valued-added products from seconds produce and freely distribute these to food insecure communities and families.
Project Methods
CCCNM creates two self-sustainable compost pilots and provides sharable case studies and a state-wide digital resource hub to pave the way for increasing composting in arid climates as a vital component of maintaining healthy soils in these areas. The project builds on approaches that have proven successful to address existing social, educational, and climatic challenges.Ciudad SWCD, in partnership with other members of the NM Compost Coalition and community partners, seeks to fund a part-time compost coordinator to oversee the project. The compost coordinator will provide compost and food waste reduction training, lead a cost-benefit analysis, and prepare a final, sharable report and toolkit for the two pilots. Other tasks include, additional outreach as able, materials and labor to install one community composting system and scale up one urban farm composting system, and to inform the expansion of an existing state-wide digital resource hub (AgriGate), which will include existing composting sites and share the pilot project lessons, successes, and materials.The CCC and FCH pilots are designed and sited to prioritize, support, and involve community members from historically underserved communities. The community-scale compost bin will be centrally located in the Santa Barbara-Martineztown Community Garden (Figure 3), in a community identified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST; Figure 2), and near services for unhoused people. Similarly, the farm-scale composting system located at the Indigenous Farm Hub (IFH) will offer a centralized place to compost organic wastes generated on nearby farms. The IFH team, run by and serving indigenous people from various sovereign nations living and working in the Albuquerque area, will receive training to generate quality compost to be returned to participating farmers. The IFH will have two farm residue streams: seconds produce--edible produce that is not visually appealing enough to sell--and inedible waste, which will be used to make compost. The seconds received will be transformed into value-added products at Three Sisters Kitchen and will then be distributed to families and communities in need.In collaboration with project partners, the compost coordinator will provide educational and operational support to effectively establish the compost plots and provide needed training and mentorship to people who will be caring for them long-term. The compost coordinator will write case studies to be shared on AgriGate and by community partners. The case studies will illuminate the community, economic, and environmental benefits of the pilot projects and other established community composting systems and will include other shareable materials.CCCNM's design was informed by other successful programs, including the Lancaster Composting Co-ops, which exemplifies community-scale composting, and Reunity Resources, a regional example of urban farm-scale composting. Funds will support key steps in the process, including encouraging better utilization of food resources before they become waste, efficiently composting what is wasted, thoughtful application of the compost to eliminate the need for synthetic fertilizers and build healthy soils, and case study development and distribution. This comprehensive approach will allow for the long-term success of the two pilots and help other communities to begin or expand composting and food waste reduction efforts.CCCNM will establish or improve composting operations at two key locations in the Albuquerque metro area--the IFH and the Santa Barbara-Martineztown Community Garden--and share lessons learned from these pilot sites on AgriGate. A visual depiction of the timeline and milestones is provided in Table 2, and a description follows.The first six months of the grant working period will be dedicated to hiring the compost coordinator, purchasing equipment and supplies, developing/adapting educational materials, and training staff. During this time, the coordinator will meet key personnel and collaborators and begin to compile information from, similar operations (three community compost co-op systems in the Albuquerque area and Reunity Resources' static aeration composting system). This interval will also include the construction of the 3-bin composting system in the community garden and the static aeration system at the IFH.About halfway through the first grant year, regular outreach and education efforts will begin. The coordinator will lead orientation and training for both sites. Ciudad SWCD and collaborators will communicate updates on the pilots, recruit participants for the respective sites, and educate households and urban farmers on the importance of and ways to reduce and divert food waste. The coordinator will utilize or build on outreach materials and guides from collaborators and USEPA Food: Too Good to Waste Implementation Guide and Toolkit. Food waste diversion, routine monitoring, maintenance, and data collection will also begin at this time.For the next year (summer 2024 to summer 2025), the coordinator will provide support to help community members and farmers care for the compost systems and operate them effectively. The coordinator will take care of data collection at the CCC site, identify one or more compost leads as well as any remaining needs in order to be self-sustaining after the grant period.At the IFH, the coordinator will assist in gathering data on diversion and compost production. Diversion of seconds produce to value-added products to feed local people in need will occur primarily during the peak growing season each year. Once a batch of IFH site compost is ready, contributing farmers will be able to pick up compost for free, in proportion to the amount of feedstock they contributed. The IFH is designed to be self-sustaining after going through the scale-up transition in the first grant year.During the last six months of the grant period, the coordinator will finalize data, conduct analyses, write up the case studies, and gather other sharable materials. Routine monitoring and as-needed support will continue to ensure pilots are running smoothly and self-sustained. Outreach and education will be transitioned away from the compost coordinator and to the compost lead(s) for each site. AgriGate will be expanded, and the case studies and other sharable materials will be uploaded and freely accessible.