Outreach Program

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), with leadership provided by Linda Knapp, and the Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Recycling and Economic Development Officials (MACREDO) are conducting outreach programs with US EPA Region III funding to farmers in each of the Mid-Atlantic states to promote the recovery of food residuals from the waste stream. The outreach program includes educational sessions and a limited number of site visits to farms that are seriously interested in composting food scraps from local supermarkets, restaurants, and other businesses. Ned Foley, one of the program's technical consultants, gave farm composting presentations at events in our region and identified farmers who are now participating in the program.

The events included:•

Delaware Organic Food and Farming Association (DOFFA) Annual Meeting (January 10, 2009)•

West Virginia Small Farms Conference (February 25, 2009)•

Keep Farming in Montgomery County, PA (February 27, 2009)

Ned has effectively implemented composting systems on Two Particular Acres, his small family farm located in western Montgomery County, PA ( http://www.twoparticularacres.com/) .

He accepts pre-consumer food waste from nearby businesses. Linda Knapp is seeking Virginia farmers who are interested food composting opportunities that can be revenue generators for local farms. If you know of farmers who may have interest in such a program please provide their contact information to Linda (lknapp@netreach.net) and copy me, or forward this email directly to the farmers so that they may contact us directly. MACREDO (Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Recycling and Economic Development Officials) is a non-profit organization that promotes recycling economic development projects and programs on a regional basis in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. More information is available at http://www.macredo.org/.

Thank you,

Greg

Greg Evanylo
Professor and Extension SpecialistCrop and Soil Environmental Sciences (0403)
426 Smyth Hall,
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Ph: 540-231-9739
Fax: 540-231-3075
gevanylo@vt.eduhttp://www.cses.vt.edu/people/profiles/evanylo_profile.html