HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — In Huntsville, there is a new way to not only do some good for the environment but also receive credits toward locally grown, farm-fresh produce from Duncan Farms.
For 35.99 A month, the people of Duncan Farms will pick up your food scraps every week. This payment includes the picking up of the scraps and the compost bucket where the scraps will be disposed of.
These scraps will make it possible to grow more food down the line. This not only helps with food insecurity by providing fresh produce to the community but it's also a sustainable practice for the environment.
"We essentially will come to your house every week, we'll do what's called a refresh on your bucket, we'll swap out the liner, take the food out, put a new one in and clean out the bucket if needed, and allow you to earn a credit. So, essentially that credit is about 2 dollars and 50 cents per week, up to that, that you can then use on farm products," said Donovan Duncan, owner of Duncan Farms. "So, we're taking your food scraps, turning them into food, and then giving you the ability to kind of be part of that food security system through our website and our add-on store, then we bring that food the next time that we come and pick up your bucket. So, you know, if you want some eggs, and the chickens are making eggs, you can actually go and essentially be apart of that process from start to finish and get your eggs delivered back to you after you put out collets, broccoli scraps, whatever.
Farm-to-table-to-farm
Food insecurity is also a big concern during the pandemic. This isn't stemming from just limited access to food itself. It's also limited access to transportation.
Duncan tells us that during the pandemic, they've still been able to provide food, and he wants locals to know that farms in the valley are a resource, and keeping it local, is not only good for people in the community, but our economy too. He says, ""Food security to us means the relationship with local farmers that essentially allows us to grow food for you and you know that we are always here. Next crisis, we're still growing food, we still have food, and we can still give food to our members. So, we were giving out meat, for example, the entirety of the overall COVID crisis, never slowed down, never stopped but it's because we have the animals here on our land."
And how can this composting program help farmers? Not only will the farm come and get the scraps home your home but their food can be delivered to your door, in order to feed you and your family.
To sign up for this service, visit the Huntsville Compost website.