Hi Tom, I would be very interested in joining your project. Most of the trash I throw away is food waste and would be happy to provide it to you. But I do live by myself and it will take me awhile to fill a 5 gallon container - I will probably need some suggestions for managing fruit flies. I live downtown at the corner of S. Albany and W. Clinton Streets. Sincerely, Amy Panek
>>> Thomas Shelley <[email protected]> 7/22/2009 9:26 AM >>> Dear Friends. Some of you have heard by now of the Steep Hollow Farm Sustainable Chicken Project. We are looking for 40 subscribers living in downtown Ithaca* to provide food scraps for our compost system. Many downtown residents may not have the inclination, time, permission from their landlords, or the space to compost. We'd like to collect your food scraps, compost them at our farm, and allow our 95 laying hens (and a few roosters) to forage on the insects and other decomposing organisms living in the active compost. The compost critters will become a significant component of the protein requirement of our flock, reducing our reliance on traditional grains as a protein source. Instead of going to the landfill, as is currently the case, the composted food scraps from urban residents would become part of our chicken's nutrient base and the urban participants would have access to high quality, sustainable and locally raised eggs, establishing an urban-rural nutrient cycle. We hope this will become a demonstration project to illustrate one way in which local agriculture can become less dependent upon fossil fuels, reduce its greenhouse gas output and become more sustainable overall. We are asking for a $35 per year subscription fee from each participating household to cover our associated costs. This fee could be less per unit for multiple units in one building. (The average participating household could easily see more than a $35 per year drop in the cost of City of Ithaca trash tags.) Ideally, we need 40 subscribers to optimize our production. *We are a small scale project and we are now only taking memberships from the downtown Ithaca area as it is unsustainable for us to collect food scraps from outlying areas at this time. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact me by e-mail or at 342-0864. Tom Shelley and Christianne White from Steep Hollow Farm. ****************************************************************************************** Steep Hollow Farm, Ithaca, New York Sustainable Chicken Project Do you eat eggs? Do you cook at home? Do you wish you could turn your food scraps into productive compost but don’t have the space, permission, or inclination to make a compost pile in your urban neighborhood? Do you live in Ithaca, on “the flats”? Southside, Northside, Fall Creek, Downtown areas? Your food scraps could turn into eggs…. How does this happen? Steep Hollow Farm is raising “sustainable” chickens for egg production. We are doing this by trying to reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to the extent possible. Reduction in the use of commercial grain crops is one way to accomplish these goals. One technique that has been proven to work as a way to reduce traditional grain inputs is to generate compost from household food scraps and use the “critters” in the active compost-insects, worms and other decomposing organisms-as chicken feed. How can you participate? * Donate your table scraps. We will provide you with a five-gallon container with a lid for storage of your food scraps and provide instructions for preparing your food scraps. * We’ll pick up your container and supply you with a clean container. * As the hens start laying in July and August you’ll get some eggs back as a thank-you, and be able to purchase additional eggs, at a reasonable price, which could be delivered when we pick up your compost. We need a name for our project! All of those persons or households who contribute food scraps to our compost system are eligible to provide an entry to name the “sustainable chicken project.” The winner will receive a dozen eggs. For more information contact Tom Shelley at <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]>or 342-0864. _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
