August 28 and 29, 2023
Sacred Heart Community Services, San Jose, CA
Sacred Heart’s Essential Services and La Mesa Verde (LMV) programs, are partnering with the Initiative’s Climate and Food Justice Program to advance food justice in the South Bay. The team recently led a workshop with La Mesa Verde gardeners, food pantry staff and volunteers to launch a composting pilot project. They invited Michele Young, a Master Composter with UC Extension and senior manager at the County of Santa Clara to offer technical training as part of six hours of workshop time that included, building the pilot facility, and hands-on worm composting. SHCS’ Food Pantry serves 25,000 members each year. As part of an ongoing study, SCU Researchers have found that, although the pantry recovers hundreds of thousands of pounds of edible food it also disposes of about 2,700 lbs per month, (2-10% of the total food received). This project aims to transform the pantry’s food waste into compost while promoting the human right to food. This workshop was co-organized by the Initiative’s Christopher Bacon, Isabelle Solórzano (student researcher) and Fernando Fernandez Levia (SHCS manager). To learn more about free workshops on vermicomposting check UC Extensions Composting Education Program.
