For immediate release: August 13, 2024
TCRMM Receives USDA Funding for Farms and Businesses to Address Food Waste
Tompkins County Recycling and Materials Management (TCRMM) was recently awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce food waste, increase food donation, and support local composting efforts for both local businesses and farms. Drawing on the expertise of project partners Friendship Donations Network (FDN), Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) Farm, and local compost experts, this project will reduce food waste, pilot a new strategy for donating prepared foods, and support on-farm composting and compost use.
“Food scraps make up approximately 18% of the waste stream in New York State,” states Director Leo Riley. “There are many benefits to reducing food waste. This funding from the USDA will bring more resources for businesses to divert prepared food to individuals in need as well as help support local farms to recycle more food waste into a valuable soil amendment.”
To support local businesses, a roundtable will be held in the fall in partnership with FDN, the TC3 Culinary program, and Coltivare that will bring together local kitchens to discuss and identify challenges in reducing food waste. Findings from the event will be integrated into the ReBusiness Partners program to help area businesses prevent food waste, redistribute surplus edible food, and compost what is left. Tips for prevention may include strategies like reducing portion sizes, transforming ingredients, or reducing trim waste, while redistribution will include a pilot for donating prepared foods. TCRMM will also draw on extensive experience supporting local businesses with compost collection to emphasize strategies for establishing collection.
Despite its high desirability, few programs across the state recover and redistribute surplus edible prepared food. With support from FDN, this component will convene stakeholders to pilot a new system for rescuing prepared food locally. Collected food will be distributed to underserved communities via community organizations.
Lastly, this project will draw on the expertise of partners Tompkins Cortland Community College and the Cornell Waste Management Institute to support agricultural producers by enhancing on-farm composting systems and usage of finished product. A composting workshop and ongoing technical support will equip farmers with the knowledge to develop a quality soil amendment that further enhances production. Additionally, TCRMM will work with local farms to develop new composting options for the community, including an on-farm take-back of food scraps. “On-farm composting can complement the existing food scraps recycling program, expanding convenient access for organics processing community-wide,” notes Jeremy Betterley, Waste Reduction and Recycling Coordinator at TCRMM.
Information about the upcoming roundtable, farm composting workshop, and technical assistance opportunities will be forthcoming. Those who are interested are encouraged to use the Contact Us form at www.recycletompkins.org for more information.
TCRMM is one of 38 recipients of funding for a Composting and Food Waste Reduction Project that will take place between now and 2026. “These Composting and Food Waste Reduction projects help communities reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Terry Cosby, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which houses the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. “Local strategies and tools like these are important climate solutions and also contribute to food security at the community level.” This project is aligned with the recent reaffirmation of a commitment to pursue a national goal to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2023.
On the local level, the project supports aspects of Goal 8 in the Tompkins County Food System Plan to expand food waste prevention, donation and composting, and the NYSDEC’s recent goal to reduce landfilled material across the state by 85% by 2050.
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Contact:
Tompkins Recycling & Materials Management
(607) 273-6632
