FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nDate: October 27, 2022
\nContact: Kristina Hartzel, AdkAction Communications and Operations Manager, kristina@adkaction.org
\nor 518.856.3233 or Audrey Schwartzberg, ANCA Communications Officer,
\naschwartzberg@adirondack.org, 518.891.6200<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
$170K boost and nonprofit partnership will help community-scale composting program expand<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. \u2014 Turning food waste into compost will be easier for North Country communities,
\nthanks to expanded funding for a regional community-scale composting program. AdkAction and the
\nAdirondack North Country Association (ANCA) announced that the Compost for Good (CfG) initiative has
\nbeen awarded $170,000 in grants to provide technical assistance for organizations, municipalities and
\nother institutions interested in designing and implementing composting programs in their communities.
\nThe three grant awards \u2014 $120,000 from the USDA Rural Business Development Program, $30,000 from
\nthe Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program and $20,000 from the
\nNew York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) \u2014 will help AdkAction and ANCA bring the
\ncomposting initiative to more North Country communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen remarkable growth in both the work accomplished, and the need for services provided by
\nCompost for Good since they joined AdkAction in 2020 as one of our projects,\u201d said AdkAction Executive
\nDirector Sawyer Cresap. \u201cThanks to this exciting award from USDA, AdkAction will be able to support
\nincreased reach for the Compost for Good project. We\u2019re pleased that ANCA will also be joining us as a
\npartner in sparking a composting revolution in the North Country.\u201d<\/p>\n
CfG was established by co-founders John Culpepper, Katie Culpepper and ANCA Energy Circuit Rider
\nJennifer Perry in 2020, when NYSP21 provided a $20,000 grant to launch the program. Regional demand
\nfor CfG\u2019s services \u2014 including site visits, presentations, case studies, educational videos, grant assistance,
\nregulatory navigation, and peer-to-peer connections \u2014 has grown significantly over the last two years.
\nAdkAction and ANCA\u2019s partnership, bolstered by each organization\u2019s established networks and local food
\nprogramming, will increase CfG\u2019s capacity and support more community-scale composting efforts across
\nthe region, particularly among North Country farms.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs demand for our support has increased substantially in the past year, our team realized we needed to
\nexpand our capacity. We are excited to work with these two powerhouse nonprofits that are already well
\nconnected with local farms and communities. Together, we are better able to respond to the growing
\ndemand for composting in our rural North Country communities,\u201d said Perry.<\/p>\n
AdkAction will oversee the $120,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) to support
\ncommunity-scale business development for composters, haulers, manufacturers, retailers, software
\ncreators and other enterprises. The second-round grant allows CfG to build on efforts that were
\nsupported by a $93,000 RBDG in 2021 and 2022. ANCA will administer the SARE and PPI grants to
\nprovide technical assistance for farms interested in improving and expanding their composting efforts.
\nThe SARE Partnership Grant will support a research and pilot project on Whitten Family Farm in
\nWinthrop, N.Y. The funding will allow farm owner Cherie Whitten to conduct research on the amount of
\ngas, moisture and heat produced by her compost, which will be used to heat and fertilize greenhouses
\non her farm. ANCA will support Whitten\u2019s research with a team of scientists and provide educational
\nmaterials and technical assistance for farmers interested in replicating her project.<\/p>\n
\u201cNortheast SARE provides grants to address key issues affecting the sustainability of agriculture,\u201d said
\nCandice Huber, SARE Grants Program Coordinator. \u201cThis is an important project that could reduce farmer
\ncosts and effectively process organic waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cANCA is glad to build on the work AdkAction has accomplished over the last two years to bring Compost
\nfor Good to more local communities and grow awareness around the economic and environmental
\nbenefits of community-scale composting,\u201d said ANCA Executive Director Elizabeth Cooper. \u201cANCA has a
\nlong-standing relationship with both AdkAction and Compost for Good, and we look forward to working
\nwith them to make community composting more accessible for North Country farms and communities.
\nWe\u2019re grateful to the Rural Business Development Program, SARE and the Pollution Prevention Institute
\nfor helping us achieve that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Compost for Good initiative grew out of a collaboration between ANCA and North Country School
\nCamp Treetops, where John Culpepper served as director of facilities. The design and construction of the
\nLake Placid school\u2019s in-vessel large-scale composter was funded by a 2015 grant from the New York State
\nEnergy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) and administered by ANCA. While CfG has
\nsupported over 100 U.S. and international organizations, businesses, universities, school districts,
\nmanufacturers, haulers, composters and regulators to decrease the amount of food scraps sent to
\nlandfills, the team\u2019s primary focus is New York\u2019s North Country region.<\/p>\n
To learn more about Compost for Good, contact ANCA\u2019s Jennifer Perry at jperry@adirondack.org.
\nAdkAction is a member-supported nonprofit organization whose mission is to create projects that
\naddress unmet needs, promote vibrant communities, and preserve the natural beauty of the
\nAdirondacks for all.<\/p>\n
ANCA is an independent, nonprofit corporation with a transformational approach to building prosperity
\nacross northern New York. Using innovative strategies for food systems, clean energy, small businesses,
\nand equity and inclusion, ANCA delivers targeted interventions that create and sustain wealth and value
\nin local communities.<\/p>\n
Attached: one (1) PDF and three (3) photos.<\/p>\n
Photo 1: The Compost for Good Team: John Culpepper, Katie Culpepper and Jennifer Perry.
\nPhoto 2: Laura Cook of Cook Family Farm in Owls Head is working with Compost for Good to improve and
\nexpand composting processes and services.<\/p>\n
Photo 3: John Culpepper of Compost for Good and Chris Neil of Norman Ridge Farm in Vermontville
\ndiscuss how best to compost the farm\u2019s manure and bedding mix and how specialized equipment \u2014 like a
\nhygrometer and thermometer \u2014 is used to ensure high-quality compost.
\n###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: October 27, 2022 Contact: Kristina Hartzel, AdkAction Communications and Operations Manager, kristina@adkaction.org or 518.856.3233 or Audrey Schwartzberg, ANCA Communications Officer, aschwartzberg@adirondack.org, 518.891.6200 AdkAction and ANCA Announce Three Grants for Compost for Good $170K boost and nonprofit partnership will help community-scale composting program expand SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. \u2014 Turning food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n