Looking for a new way to support Inter-Faith Food Shuttle? Want to start composting? Here’s your chance! We recently partnered with CompostNow, a community food waste shuttle. They’ll pick up your food scraps, compost them into nutrient rich soil that's great for growing produce, and give the soil to us for our community gardens! All you have to do is go to http://compostnow.org/ and click "Sign up and support this garden."
Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture are one way Inter-Faith Food Shuttle partners with communities to improve health and nutrition. We provide the agricultural education to empower community members to take control of their food choices and increase their access to fresh produce. The process provides leadership development, community building, and physical activity, as well. At many of the urban sites where our gardens are located— in communities most in need of fresh produce— the soil is either too contaminated or too poor to grow food. What’s the solution? Building raised beds on top of the ground! In order to do this, we need to bring in new soil, and composting is vital to our efforts. In fact, we require more than 40,000 pounds of compost each year. Help us build community health, wealth, and security by donating your compost. Every bit counts!
Composting is another great way to reduce food waste - something Inter-Faith Food Shuttle tries to do at every level of the food system. We rescued over 7.1 million pounds of good food last year across the Triangle that otherwise would have gone to the garbage, making sure it got into hungry hands instead.
While the bits and pieces of food scraps and old food you might throw in the garbage may not be good for human consumption any more, they are still full of nutrients that are great for worm and micro-organism consumption, and can be turned back into soil to grow more food. It' s all part of a sustainable cycle! Compost reduces the amount of the greenhouse gas methane that landfills produce when food waste is added, it helps retain water and nutrients in soil, and it reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides-- so it's better for the earth, too! It’s a winning situation all around, and it just makes sense.