GROWING COMMUNITY THROUGH COMPOST IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES

Project Overview: USDA grant funds will enable LASAN and LA Compost to collaborate to support a total of 20 Farmers' Market Drop-off sites and 6 Regional Compost Hub sites for a total of 26 food waste reduction and composting locations in the City of Los Angeles. At least 14 sites will be within or adjacent to CalEnviroScreen disadvantaged communities, promoting EJ initiatives and tackling the climate crisis in vulnerable communities. This effort will build on the precedent set with the 2021-2023 USDA CCFWR Grant, and expanded with supplemental grant funds from the Los Angeles Board of Public Works (BPW), which have been incredibly successful in helping the City of Los Angeles meet food waste diversion goals set by California via SB 1383 and by LA's Green New Deal. Additional USDA funding will provide ongoing support for the existing network and grow it by establishing 5 new Farmers' Market drop-off sites and 1 additional Regional Compost Hub site, growing community-level solutions to food waste reduction. In addition, community-based organizations (CBOs), Polo's Pantry and Test Plot, will rescue and distribute edible food and engage in soil enhancement and native ecosystem restoration.Objective 1: By March 2026, LASAN in partnership with LA Compost will operate 20 Farmers' Market Food Scrap Drop-off Program locations in Los Angeles City.ACTIVITIES: As an activity promoted within LA's Green New Deal, LA residents can bring their food waste to their local farmers' market, where LA Compost provides a food waste drop-off site and promotes localized community-level composting. LA Compost staff and volunteers will operate food scrap collection at 20 weekly farmers' market locations. Food scraps will be collected, weighed, and transported to a local regional compost hub for processing. Markets have been strategically paired with regional hubs to reduce vehicle miles traveled within a 10-mile radius and ensure the availability of finished compost to local gardeners and neighboring communities. At all farmers' market locations, LA Compost and LASAN will collaborate with other CBOs to share information on how individuals can support waste diversion efforts in the City.In addition to collecting food scraps, LA Compost and LASAN are actively distributing kitchen food waste pails that can be used to collect and transport food scraps at farmers' markets, hosting bilingual compost education workshops, and engaging volunteers to participate in community composting efforts. Additionally, LASAN and LA Compost will work with CBO Polo's Pantry to support edible food rescue at farmers' markets to be distributed to hungry individuals and advance racial equity.As part of this process, LASAN and LA Compost staff will develop an interactive map with locations and dates for all active City of LA farmers' markets to aid strategic network expansion to provide equitable access to community composting, support outreach to residents in all 15 LA City Council Districts, including historically underserved, low-income, EJ communities, that do not have backyards or space to compost, and serve as a resource for individuals in their environmentally-friendly drop-off pursuits.RATIONALE: Bolstering the network of farmers' market food scrap collection sites and partnering with CBOs to rescue edible food will support SB 1383 compliance and help achieve Citywide food rescue and organics recycling goals set forth in LA's Green New Deal. On average, each Farmers' Market drop-off site has the capacity to divert 4,000 lbs. of organics from landfill per week, diverting roughly 200,000 lbs., or 100 tons, of organics annually. Collectively, the 20 sites supported through this proposal will divert 2,000 tons of organics. According to estimates generated from the Stopwaste Partnership GHG Calculator and the EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM), each activated Farmers' Market drop-off site holds an average capacity to remove 7.33 metric tons of CO2e emissions each month, an environmental equivalent of removing 19 vehicles from the roads of Los Angeles annually. Additionally, each drop-off site provides opportunities to interact with and educate 300 - 450 individuals per week, providing an incredible opportunity to instill the climate and environmental benefits of composting. As at least 10 farmers' market locations will be in or adjacent to EJ communities, these new drop-off locations will benefit some of LA's most vulnerable residents.Objective 2: By March 2026, LASAN in partnership with LA Compost will have established 6 Regional Compost Hubs in Los Angeles City. LA Compost will continue to maintain 5 Regional Compost Hubs located within LA City Parks. During the grant cycle, LA Compost will establish one additional Regional Compost Hub on LA City-owned property.ACTIVITIES: Regional Compost Hubs can process a large amount of organics from multiple community partners. The 6 Regional Compost Hubs will process organics collected from the 20 farmers' market drop-off sites. Finished compost from regional hubs will be applied at City parks and made readily available to local urban farmers and community members during quarterly 'All You Can Sift' compost distribution days.RATIONALE: Regional Compost Hubs have the capacity to divert ~436,800 lbs. of organics from landfill per site annually, producing 260 cubic yards of finished compost to improve soil health and avoiding 201 metric tons of CO2e, per CalRecycle's GHG Emissions Reduction Calculator. Compost application bolsters dense vegetation and enhances critical soil ecosystem services such as bioremediation, carbon capture, air and water filtration and will benefit urban agriculture, tree stewardship, wildlife habitat restoration, soil restoration and remediation, and increase climate adaptation and resilience.LA Compost and LASAN will work with CBO Test Plot for soil enhancement and native plant restoration projects near regional hubs. Regional Compost Hubs will also provide volunteer opportunities and host community workshops and events. Regional Compost Hubs are strategically located in different neighborhoods across LA to provide equitable access to programming for EJ communities. Each regional hub provides opportunities for CBOs and residents to engage through initiatives such as youth-focused STEM education, soil microscopy sessions, field trips, and compost infrastructure planning and utilization.Hubs can also raise awareness of environmental job pathways for young adults in EJ communities.Prior to launching the new regional hub, extensive community outreach will be conducted in English or Spanish to form meaningful relationships with neighbors, schools, and businesses in the vicinity.