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AgDevONLINE had collected maps and databases detailing the food system infrastructure across the country, including those showing food policy council locations, watersheds, farms and CSAs (community-supported agriculture efforts), farm to school programs, farmers’ markets, and mobile meat processing units.

Sustainable Princeton and the Princeton Environmental Commission are seeking 50 households in the Township and Borough to volunteer for a demonstration leaf corral project. Each household will receive free materials and instructions for installing a backyard leaf corral. The sides of the corral are typically 5′- 8′ in length and leaves are piled to a height of 3′ within the enclosure.  Leaf compost from the corral can be used as mulch or as a soil supplement for your gardens. Keeping leaves off the street improves safety and drainage along our roads, saves public money spent on collecting and disposing of leaves, and saves you time and effort in bagging leaves. To sign up, visit the Sustainable Princeton website. – Diane Landis

With help from IESI, a New Jersey-based waste management company, the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York has succeeded in composting about 90 percent of its food waste, creating a soil supplement and reducing landfill contributions at the same time.

Originally, Diana Beltran [environmental development manager] told the staff she hoped to divert just one percent of the kitchen’s food waste into composting.

“If you put it that way, you put less pressure on the duties you’re adding to work,” she said. “They are more passionate about it. You’re going to do it because it’s the right thing to do. There were no expectations, just more than we were doing than before.”