Yesterday’s scraps are becoming tomorrow’s harvest, thanks to a brand-new commercial composter at Loaves and Fishes Community Services.
Turning waste into opportunity
Using the machine, the nonprofit will convert spoiled fruits and vegetables to nutrient-rich compost used to grow future crops.
“We’ve been having about 300,000 pounds of food waste go to the landfill every year. Unfortunately, that just happens when we get food that we rescue from the grocery stores,” said Debbie White, Senior Director of Donor and Corporate Engagement.
But that’s now all starting to change. In the three weeks Loaves and Fishes has had the composter, the organization’s already seeing a difference.
“We’re no longer sending a lot of rotten produce to the landfill for it to become methane gas and become a problem for our environment,” said Melissa Luken, Executive VP for Food Operations, Loaves & Fishes.
Local partnerships to help grow and return fresh produce
Local groups like the Naperville Park District and The Conservation Foundation will use the compost as soil to grow fresh produce to then be returned to Loaves & Fishes in the future.
The efforts are all a part of the pantry’s bigger picture – providing healthy food and transforming lives for the nearly 10,000 people they’ve been feeding on average each month across Will, DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties.
‘It means the world to us when we see family come in, get the support that they need, and get themselves back on their feet,” said Luken.
Support for lasting community impact
Loaves & Fishes invited those who helped fund the purchase of the composter to see its unveiling at their food distribution hub on Wednesday. The Rotary Foundation provided a “significant portion” of that funding, with additional support from multiple Rotary Clubs around the world.
“What you do for the folks here every week is such an important mission that you have, and what we were looking for is a project where we could have a sustainable impact,” said Chuck Corrigan of the Rotary Club of Naperville Downtown.
“It is so heartwarming to see all the generous supporters come together in an initiative like this,” said White. “To be able to see them here today, witness it, and have that unveiling was really special.”
What was once rotten is now resourceful, feeding both the soil and a community in need.
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