The Gary Common Council Ways and Means Committee on May 29 reviewed CPO 2025-31, an ordinance to accept a National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant and establish a related budget in what will be called the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs.

The ordinance would allow the city to act as the primary grantee while designating the Gary Food Council and Hilltop Farmers Cooperative as subrecipients for a two-year demonstration to reduce food waste. "The grant award is $317,000 and then the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs will match with $79,000," said Brenda Scott Henry, who presented the program to the committee.

The project is a household-level demonstration: participants will receive training and a composting container and will learn how to turn food waste into usable compost. "This is a demonstration project... we are only gonna start out with, we say 50, but I hope we can get more than 50, maybe about 75" households, Henry said. Hilltop Farmers Cooperative will help identify growers who can use the finished compost.

Committee members asked procedural and budget questions. A member noted that the ordinance will need finance-department action to establish the new fund and that council appropriation is required before any money is spent in compliance with state law. Attorney Molina told the committee there will be an amendment to the draft so the measure names the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs rather than the old "green urbanism" title; the city will submit the amended version for the ordinance's third reading.

Presenters and committee members emphasized that the grant includes outreach and training components and that the city provided a local match from the Office of Sustainability budget to expand participation beyond the initial participants. Henry said partners have already started recruiting and that training classes have begun in Chicago while the Gary program awaits final approvals.

No vote was recorded during the Ways and Means meeting. Committee discussion concluded with staff and counsel agreeing to post an amended ordinance for council consideration; the presenters and committee indicated the item is anticipated to proceed to the full Gary Common Council meeting in early June for further action.