The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a $200,000 grant for the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition.
The grant will finance a project called the Valley Roots Food Hub, which will work to convert food and organic waste into biofuel, according to a July 6 news release.
“Keeping food waste out of landfills and converting it to fuel is a powerful tool for combatting the climate crisis," EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker said in the release. "Projects like these can meet local needs and address global challenges. This project will be innovative for the San Luis Valley and will provide opportunities for demonstration, education and expansion into other parts of the region.”
The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition aims to accomplish this by installing a high-efficiency anaerobic digestion system at its Mosca, Colo., campus, the release reported.
“The EPA’s visionary funding for diverting organics out of landfill streams and providing opportunity for carbon-neutral renewable energy is a great catalyst for rural communities working on these issues," Valley Roots Food Hub General Manager Nick Chambers said in the release.
The Valley Roots Food Hub will also utilize this recent funding by establishing a Renewable Energy Park on the Mosca campus to serve as an educational facility for learning about and spreading the advantages of anaerobic digestion and other renewable energy sources, the release reported.
According to the release, the establishment of the new anaerobic digestion system will showcase the technical and economic potential to convert organic material into fuel.
