Closing the Loop
Fertile Ground Makes Oklahoma Greener
That little triangle of three arrows is one of the simplest examples of semiotics ever designed. It’s a loop that continues to move in infinity. You see it on the label of your aluminum can or the underside of a cardboard box. Without a word, it begs you: “Make sure I go to a place that lets me be used again.” OKC’s Fertile Ground takes that little triangle and helps you put it into practice.
A worker-owned cooperative, Fertile Ground was established in 2011 when Terry Craghead was working with urban farming and composting collectives in Oklahoma City. “As I volunteered with Commonwealth Urban Farms sorting and composting food, I was struck by the sheer volume of food waste that one grocery store produced per week — the wasted edible food and nutrients, and the harmful impacts to the environment of disposing that food in the landfill — and began to think about possible solutions,” Terry recounts.
Soon, a team of worker-owners assembled with the common goal of returning food to the soil. It began by connecting with local businesses like Elemental Coffee, The Wedge, Ludivine, and The Mule, picking up their food waste and connecting it with farmers and community gardens. These partnerships helped expand their mission, finding out that many places did not have recycling programs. Where there are scraps, there are bottles and cans, so Fertile Ground took on a bigger mission and provided bins to pick up regularly.
While much of the compostable material it processes goes to small farms, Fertile Ground also provides a service to sell it to backyard gardeners who may not have the time or space to compost their own. Winter’s espresso grounds at the coffee shop might be nourishing your carrots next spring.
The Red Cup, an early adopter of Fertile Ground’s composting services, truly closes the loop. Much of its scraps are picked up and processed by Fertile Ground, and the compost is given to local farms like Commonwealth Urban and Circle Closer Farms who, in turn, are able to see their compost-fueled produce turned into culinary treasure by The Red Cup’s kitchen.
The relationship among farmer and chef and eater comes full triangle.
> Fertile Ground, 2228 S. Santa Fe Ave., Oklahoma City, 405-633-0264, fertilegroundok.coop/
