FREE food scrap drop off at the Medford Grower’s Market is in the works!

Communities throughout the country are converting food scrap material into compost to reduce the need for artificial fertilizers and to prevent the environmental problems that happen when food scraps go to landfills or into water treatment facilities. In Southern Oregon there is a system in place to get food scraps directly to local farms to be processed into nutrient rich soil amendments. This system not only prevents waste and environmental harm, it also provides a significant benefit to local farms and local soils! Read on to see how you can support our efforts!

Who’s involved locally

This year, Rogue Valley Food System Network is supporting the efforts of the Community Compost Coalition (CCC) to help local farms expand their composting activities. The project collaborators are Rogue Produce & Community Compost for transport and logistics, Ashland Community Composting for transport and bokashi composting, Southern Oregon Food Solutions (SOFS) for Community Outreach, and three receiving farms: Fry Family Farm, Evers Ridge Farm and Joy Luck Farm for the composting process.

How it works

The primary working model is a subscription curbside service for collecting food scraps from residents, businesses and schools, and then transporting the scraps to local farms to be composted. In 2022, the Ashland Rotary Club sponsored a FREE food scrap drop off service at the Ashland Grower’s market to provide more residents with a way to keep food scraps out of the trash and to give it to local farms instead. This service continues to be  provided by Rogue Produce & Community Compost and it has been so well received and appreciated that it has been renewed for 2023. Also this year, when the Britt Festival signaled that it wanted to become the “greenest concert venue on the west coast,” Ashland Community Composting worked out the logistics to collect food scraps from each event throughout the summer.

Moving forward

We need your support!

We are currently raising funds in order to fully cover the cost of the food scrap drop off service for the entire Medford Grower’s Market season in 2024. We would love to receive your help in making sure we can fund this service for 2024 and beyond! In a typical pick-up at the Ashland Grower’s Market, we divert 180 gallons (6 large garbage bins) of food scrap material from the landfill and donate this valuable resource to local farms that are working hard to grow the food we all love.

Donate today!

Thank you, and see you at the Grower’s Markets!