Holiday compost can help metro Atlanta farmers
EAST POINT, Ga. - This time of year is typically filled with plenty of family gatherings and a lot of cooking. That can also mean a lot of food waste. Those scraps can also help local farmers put more food on your table. Good Day's Lindsay Tuman got an inside look at the partnership helping turn your trash into a nourishing treasure.
Even in winter, you'll find a lush, green garden at Queen Yenn's Oyun Botanical Garden in East Point.
"We grow basically what's able to be grown locally and seasonally. So we grow seasonal and local vegetables. And it's natural, organic, chemical-free, freshly harvested," Yenn said.
Organic down to the compost - the key to this garden's success.
"Compost makes a huge difference. Pretty much whenever we turn the beds, we're going to add compost because it adds nutrients to the soil," she said.
Queen Yenn
The compost Yenn uses to nourish her soil comes from her neighbors. It's thanks to a partnership with CompostNow and the FoodWell Alliance.
"FoodWell Alliance is about a 10-year-old nonprofit, and our mission is to provide resources and support to local growers across metro Atlanta with the goal of creating healthier communities and just connecting people around healthy food," said Kate Conner, the executive director of the organization.
The partnership with CompostNow has been in place for about a year. And during the holidays, it is extremely beneficial.
FoodWell Alliance Executive Director Kate Conner
"We're cooking a ton at this time of the year, lots of greens, lots of carrots, vegetables. And inevitably, you have food scraps. Kind of while you're doing all that cooking, we're asking people to think about composting, and that means taking those food scraps and returning them to the earth. So you're actually giving back to the earth. Gifting soil to it," Conner said.
Bringing food waste to these bins helps provide local farmers with what they need to produce better crops at a lower cost.
"And FoodWell Alliance does take on the cost of that burden to farmers because it's one of the most expensive pieces of farming. Healthy soil is expensive. A lot of folks call it black gold, and we truly believe that it is the secret to growing healthy vegetables and food," she said.
Yenn has some of the bins on her farm.
"Because neighbors can compost, they can bring their food scraps here to the garden, to the bins which are provided by CompostNow, and once it is finished, it comes back here to the farm and those neighbors," Yenn said.
It's a huge benefit to farms, including Yenn's, who put that soil to good use to help keep their communities healthy and thriving.
"Keeping in mind that everything has a cycle, we don't have to throw it away. Everything has life in it. And we can use that, and it goes right back to the fresh produce that they have," she said. "I think that's such an important component of being a neighbor is helping each other to reduce waste."
Turning what might have been trash into new life.
Compost stations are located all over the metro area, from East Point to Avondale and Alpharetta.
If you want to find the location nearest you, you can find more information here.