Close the Loop with Compost at Sunrise Farm!

30-11-2019

We're well underway!

Hi Friends–

We’re well underway with the campaign, thanks to more than 40 of you! I’m so excited about this project because it’s going to really enhance the soil fertility at Sunrise. We’ll combine our own veggie waste (like the spent tomato plants, below…) with food waste from you to create a high-quality finished product that will work great in our certified-organic production system. Thanks for contributing!

–Chuck

16-12-2019

Letter from the Vermont Farm to Plate Network

Hi all,

Sarah here from the Vermont Farm to Plate Network, a statewide initiative to strengthen Vermont’s food system, increase access to local food, and help farms and other food system businesses provide environmental benefit to the state. I want to thank you all for your amazing support so far and let you know what it means to us on a statewide level.

Vermont needs more local composting options! Our state is a trailblazer in keeping food out of the landfill. Even better, we’re fundamentally shifting the way we view food scraps, from treating them as “waste” that needs to be managed to recognizing them as a valuable resource. But fulfilling this vision requires increasing composting capacity with innovative models. We’re particularly excited about on-farm composting because it returns these valuable nutrients to our soil to grow more local food, and local collection services are a key piece of the puzzle to make this possible.

The Farm to Plate Network is so excited to support Willow Tree Community Composting and Sunrise Farm as they “close the loop” locally. Not only will your contributions allow them to serve more households directly, but their partnership and the systems they create will be a model for other small businesses. The F2P Network is committed to sharing their story, and the story of the community support that makes it possible, to spark similar solutions in communities around the state.

At this time of year when Americans generate three times more food waste than normal, and as 2020’s landfill ban rapidly approaches, please consider donating to these campaigns. If you can’t donate, or already have, please help us spread the word!

Thanks again, to Jen, Chuck, and everyone working to support them, and we’re so excited to see what grows in Hartford.

-Sarah Danly, Farm to Plate Network Manager

21-01-2020

Campaign is wrapped up

Hello friends and supporters:

We wrapped up the compost campaign at the end of December, and we’re feeling great about our progress to date. We had 56 donors, and though we only reached about half of our original money goal, we’re very happy about the breadth of support. We’ve never undertaken a crowd-sourcing campaign before, and perhaps we just set the original goal too high.

Going forward, we’ve made it to the final round for a Working Lands Business Grant from the State of Vermont. We’ve applied for $20,000, which, in combination with your generous support and matching funds from the farm, will make this project a reality. We’ll find out in April about those funds. Meanwhile, we’re lining up contractors and firm construction bids in the hope of moving forward once the winners are announced.

We hope this will be a nice demonstration project for other farms and other communities across the region. Composting of food waste is a great idea, and returning it to a farm to grow more food is even better. Feel free to share the details with your friends in other towns to let them know it’s happening. I’m not sure if this page is still accepting donations, but if it isn’t and you know someone who would like to donate, get in touch with me through the farm’s website – sunrisefarmvt.com.

Thanks!

–Chuck Wooster