Phil. a. delph. i. a!

Two new states!

Maryland...

And Pennsylvania!

In Philadelphia, we got TWO rest days because Dave and Austin decided to ride the 180 miles from DC to here in one day.  No big deal.

So we went to see the Liberty Bell,

went on a nice walk past this parking lot (look at the bottom sign closely),

and got (real, with cheez whiz cheese) Philly cheesesteaks at Jim's, a restaurant visited by Billy Joel and James Taylor.

Philadelphia also has a well-established education-based compost program.  I almost feel like I'm back in the Bay Area with the prevalence of composters in this part of the country!

The House Composts

Washington, DC to Philadelphia

It’s true, the House of Representatives instituted a compost program in their cafeteria in the fall of 2007.  After the representatives dispose of their food waste—and compostable cutlery—in compost bins, a food service worker shreds it in a large pulper.  The pulped waste weighs less, making the 25 mile trek to Chesterfield Farms much easier.  And, according to this article, composting waste is cheaper than hauling it to the landfill!  Yet another reason to compost.  Chesterfield Farms also collects yard waste from curbside pickup programs, in addition to compostables from a variety of businesses, including Whole Foods.  Lots of information here, if you’d like to learn more about them.

Washington, DC, was rich in food waste avoidance resources.  One nonprofit, Bread for the City, helps feed DC’s low income residents.  One of the ways it accomplishes its goal is through the utilization of excess produce on regional farms, food that would otherwise go to waste.

I noticed other signs of food waste prevention and compost in DC, including in my frozen yogurt, which I ate with a compostable spoon (and my friend Jackie, who’s in DC for the summer!).

Jackie and I in front of the White House—on what happened to be Obama's birthday!

Katie and Jackie in front of Old Ebbitt Grill, the "oldest dining saloon in Washington, DC."

New District!

...since Washington, DC isn't a state.

Fredericksburg to Washington, DC

This morning I stopped at Fredericksburg’s city hall for a nice little chat with Nancy, a receptionist in the department of public works.  Fredericksburg has a single stream recycling pickup, as do most of the towns we’ve passed through now that we’re on the east coast.  They also have a leaf program in the winter, in which they vacuum the leaves off of the streets.  They’ve just begun composting the leaves and other brush at the Stafford County landfill, and the finished product goes back to city projects.  They plan to sell it in the future, to pay for landfill operations costs.  

Additionally, Stafford County has recently begun offering free composting classes to the county residents.  Once the people have learned how to turn food waste into fertilizer, they can purchase a compost bin for $20!

Stafford County Landfill.  Yardwaste being recycled into mulch.

After leaving Fredericksburg, I headed to Washington, DC.  We got to our nation’s capital in time to shower and get ready for our FACE AIDS presentation at the Stanford in Washington house.  We had dinner at the house with some Stanford students who are in Washington for the summer.  It was so wonderful to see friends and people from school; I had almost forgotten how much I miss being around people my age!  Not that Dave and Austin aren’t great.  I just miss my girl friends and shopping and gossiping and pink and frozen yogurt and sushi and...

Anyway, the presentation went well!  

Commonwealth Capital

Richmond to Fredericksburg

We took a rest day yesterday and spent the last two nights with the Ashes, a family Austin knows from Worcester, Massachusetts, his hometown, who had moved to the Richmond area (Chesterfield, to be precise), several years ago.

They were wonderful, as our hosts typically are, and cooked us real southern food!  I tried (non-instant) grits for the first time, and was surprised by how much I liked them.

With the Ashe family.

We spent our off day wandering the streets of Richmond, a real city (so much authenticity in this post)!  I stopped in a grocery store, Ukrop’s, for a peach, and got so much more, including information about their lovely compost program.  They began collecting their organic waste in 2002, when they formed a partnership with Watkins Nursery, located in a Richmond suburb called Midlothian.  The actual composting process occurs at the nursery, and then Ukrop’s and Watkins both sell the finished compost product back to the community.

There was also a salvage grocery store, called Fresh to Frozen Grocery Salvage, located a few miles from the Ashes’ home.  It was quite similar to the one in Sonora, Kentucky, and sold similar products: dented canned goods, bent cereal boxes, overstock, and other foods that had recently passed their expiration dates.  They also sell a selection of non-salvage foods, such as milk, produce, and bread.  They’ve been open since 2005 and, according to their slogan, are a “Solution to Saving.”  I think they meant saving money, but saving food is quite important as well.  Check plus, Richmond.

The City of Nice People

Charlottesville to Richmond

People in Charlottesville are SO NICE!  And so helpful, too!  Here are five examples of the people I met while in town:

Last night we stayed with one Austin’s high school friends’ roommates.  Friends of the friend of a friend again, I like those.  They go to UVA and have a nice porch swing, which we sat on in the evening.  Today, keeping with the history theme, visited Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.  

UVA—also designed by Thomas Jefferson.

Monticello

After our tour, Dave and Austin took off for Richmond, and I headed to Barnes & Noble to get a new book.  I ended up with three.  At the checkout counter, I asked if the store had a student discount.  The woman at the register told me no, but that they had an educator discount.  I told her I would be teaching science to elementary school kids as part of an after school program in the fall, and she gave me 20% off.

Then, I went to Lindt to get a bar of chocolate and chatted with the cash register attendant there for 20 minutes about college, Japan, and the Alps.  He gave me lots of samples and was wonderful to talk to.

After that, I went to Walgreens for contact solution.  I needed to use the restroom, so I asked an employee at the pharmacy where it was.  She left the pharmacy, walked across the entire store, and unlocked the door to the employee lounge for me.

After that, I went to Whole Foods.  I asked the employee sweeping the sidewalk in front of the store what they did with their compost.  When I told her, named Dawn, about my project, she practically dropped her broom and dragged me to the break room.  There, we, and several other employees, talked about the company that picks up the compost, Timber Creek Organics, for quite awhile.  Timbercreek farm began growing organic foods relatively recently, and was inspired to do so by none other than Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms!  Quelle coincidence!

Timbercreek began composting a few years ago so they could produce healthier grasses for their herbivorous animals.  They contacted local businesses and asked them to collect their compostable waste, which Timbercreek picks up several times a week.  Currently, they collect almost 5 tons of compostable material a week.  That’s insane!  What a successful program!  Timbercreek sells the excess compost product back to community residents.  One of the Whole Foods employees, Melissa, had purchased some of their compost for her garden and said it was incredible and she had never grown such healthy produce.  Timbercreek, continue spreading the gospel of compost. 

People of Charlottesville, continue spreading the gospel of kindness.

Thanks, google image search!

The Farm of Many Faces

Lexington to Charlottesville: Part Two

Today I visited Polyface Farms.  The sustainable farm was used as a case study in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and, more recently, featured in the movie Food, Inc.  When I discovered how close we were traveling to the farm, I decided that I needed to pay it a visit, and have been quite excited ever since.  I was not disappointed.  

Located in the middle of rural southwestern Virginia, it was a bit of a trek to get out to the farm.  I felt like I had been driving one lane country farm roads for ages before I finally arrived.  As I pulled into the gravel parking lot, I spotted a woman watering her flowers on the porch of one of the two houses.  She turned out to be Lucille Salatin, mother of Joel Salatin, who was featured in Food, Inc.  Joel runs the farm, but Lucille owns it, and so she was able to tell me quite a bit about the farm’s philosophy, which is centered around the health of the grasses:

The cows feed on grass, and move to a new field every day to ensure that the grass isn't overgrazed.

The broilers, or chickens raised for meat, follow the cows feeding on shorter blades of grass and grains.

The "egg-mobile" follows the broilers, and the chickens feed on cow manure while laying eggs.

Inside the egg-mobile.

The broilers are slaughtered right on the farm.

And sold from the farm, too.

There you have it: the (overly simplified) philosophy behind one of the more ecologically healthy farms in the country.

I was also interested in how sustainable food growers dealt with food waste.  Lucille told me that they feed the chickens their leftover food scraps.  I was pleased to hear that, but what about compost?  Don’t they have a pile?

More like a mountain.

Food scraps don’t end up here in the compost pile, but after the Salatins slaughter chickens, they compost the guts, bones, feathers, and other unusable parts.  They don’t want any cannibalistic chickens running around, apparently.  Also in the compost is the farm’s yard clippings.  The chicken parts combined with the brush make a very nutrient-rich compost product, Lucille told me.  With the stench of the piles and the hordes of flies milling around, that's easy to believe.

So many flies.

History and Cookies

Lexington to Charlottesville: Part One

Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are living among history.  Lexington in particular is a Civil War historical hotspot; it was home to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.  This morning, we paid a visit to the Washington and Lee University campus, which is named after George Washington and Robert E. Lee.  Fun fact: Lee’s wife was Martha Washington’s great-granddaughter. 

Washington and Lee is right next to the Virginia Military Institute.

The Middle of the Washington and Lee campus.

General Lee's horse's grave. Traveller was quite the beloved animal.

Stonewall Jackson's house and garden...

...which utilizes compost!  I told you it was a big deal.

After leaving Lexington, I went to Polyface Farms.  You'll be able to read alllll about that visit in the next post.

After leaving Polyface, I met up with Dave and Austin in Afton, home of June Curry, the cookie lady.  A legend among trans-american cyclists, Curry has been providing weary riders with cookies, water, and a place to stay since the bike-centennial in 1976.  A woman who started helping riders simply by putting a hose out on the street has transformed the hilly area into a favorite cycling destination.  Over the years, Curry has accumulated a museum full of pictures, jerseys, and other memorabilia left by the thousands of cyclists who have passed through.  She was a delight to talk to, and we spent several hours with her on her porch.

Austin hanging his torn (from his fall) jersey on the wall of the bike museum.

The cookie lady feeds food scraps to her rooster!