Department of Agriculture invests nearly $8 million in 26 game-changing programs: 'Local strategies ... are important'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced an investment of more than $7.5 million to help reduce planet-warming gas pollution.

This funding is going toward 26 agreements that support waste management projects. These will reduce food waste and ultimately reduce planet-warming gas pollution. The program, which so far appears to be unaffected by President Donald Trump's recent budget cuts, is called Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements and features a wide range of impressive projects.

The Moab Compost Pilot Program aims to divert residential and commercial food waste from landfills and produce beneficial compost for farmers. The City of Minneapolis will use the funds to divert commercial food waste from municipal landfills to generate compost.

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The City of Sun Prairie will implement composting and food waste reduction programs at schools and city-wide events and pilot an 18-month curbside composting service. Sun Prairie's compost will end up at community gardens and urban farms.

Food waste is a significant contributor to our changing climate. When food decomposes, it releases methane. Like other planet-warming gases, methane traps heat in our atmosphere and increases the trend of extreme weather patterns. Proper composting can sequester that pollution in the soil.

There are also the upstream implications for farmers. Perfectly good food that doesn't get used is a waste of the resources that went into growing it, including water, land, and transportation. All of those efforts have their own environmental impact. Funding for programs to mitigate food loss at the producer level (versus food waste at the consumer level) helps farmers maximize the fruits of their labor.

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"Efforts to reduce food loss and waste are a vital component of USDA [National Institute of Food and Agriculture's] food safety and nutrition portfolio," said USDA NIFA director Dr. Manjit Misra, via a USDA article. "The projects funded through this initiative will generate new opportunities at the local level for improved food security, economic growth and environmental prosperity."

"These Composting and Food Waste Reduction projects help communities reduce the harmful effects of food waste on the environment," said Terry Cosby, chief of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Local strategies and tools like these are important climate solutions and also contribute to food security at the community level."

This is great news all around. The best thing about composting is that you can get involved with it right now. Take a look at our composting guide and learn how to turn your kitchen scraps into rich soil for your garden.