We had an amazing Flavors of the Valley, our annual local food tasting expo, with a record-breaking 1,200 attendees! From savory to sweet, the flavors were out of this world and all of them oh so local. 50 vendors connected with their neighbors over their delicious offerings, shared samples, and sold some food and farm products, too. We had music, kids’ activities, even a series of bike tire changing demos. We had a blast reveling in the bounty of our community, and of course popping from sample to sample in the event’s characteristic bustle.
We’re excited to announce that with all the food distributed, this year’s Flavors of the Valley was also zero waste! Sampling events can generate a lot of garbage–cups, plates, napkins, utensils–it can really pile up. While we’re generally waste conscious, this year we gave it our all and re-directed the event’s waste stream entirely. We sourced compostable cups, plates, napkins, and utensils for the big day, and of course considered all the food scraps, too. Instead of sending waste to the landfill, we sent bags and bags of compostable material to the new Upper Valley Compost Company (who was also a vendor this year!)
The folks at Upper Valley Compost partner with composting facilities in Vermont and New Hampshire to turn food waste and other compostable materials into rich soil. We are thrilled to report that we had but one wee bag of trash by the end of Flavors of the Valley–the rest of the event waste is on its way to becoming soil, and feeding our local food system yet again!
Check out these comparison shots of last year’s trash pile versus this years:
…and then there was one!!