Gary committee reviews $317,000 federal grant to pilot household composting

The Gary Common Council Ways and Means Committee on Thursday reviewed an ordinance to accept a $317,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and establish a related budget in the city’s sustainability fund, with the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs providing a $79,000 local match.

Brenda Scott Henry, who introduced the composting demonstration project on behalf of the city, said the initiative grew out of community requests led by the Gary Food Council and the Hilltop Farmers Cooperative. "It came from the community," Henry said, noting the city must be the applicant while community groups serve as subrecipients.

The pilot would provide household training, supply secure indoor composting containers and encourage participants to either use the compost in home gardens or share it with local growers. "We are only gonna start out with, we say 50, but I hope we can get more than 50, maybe about 75 people, households who will participate in the program," Henry said.

Henry told the committee the grant is structured over two years and that the city experienced delays in receiving the award because of a federal administrative change. She said the $79,000 match is already included in her office budget. "The grant award is $317,000, and then the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs will match with $79,000," Henry said.

Council members asked about outreach and whether established local farms and growers could be incorporated into the project. Councilman Washington asked specifically about partnering with local operations such as Faith Farms; Henry said those farms were expected to be members of the Gary Food Council and that the program would begin in the Hilltop community and expand to other neighborhoods as recruitment and funding permit.

Committee members sought assurances that composting containers would not create pest problems; Henry said the containers are intended for indoor household use and that training will cover proper handling. She emphasized the pilot is intended to produce data to inform future program decisions: if the demonstration is successful, the city could scale or refine it; if not, the design would be adjusted.

The ordinance’s sponsor is listed as Mayor Eddie D. Melton; committee members were told an amendment will update the ordinance language to rename the sponsoring office from the older "Green Urbanism" label to the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs. The committee set the ordinance to move forward to the June 3 council meeting and asked staff to provide the amended language ahead of that meeting.

The Ways and Means Committee did not vote on the ordinance on Thursday; the item is expected to be considered by the full council on June 3.