Story by Mapris Purgas, FSDS Intern The success of the Food Scraps Drop Spot program continues through the winter season since we first introduced our Winter Farmers Market location in the Nat Bailey Stadium and at the Gordon Neighborhood House. We have been seeing a lot of familiar faces stopping by to leave behind their food scraps and some excited new shoppers previously unaware of the fact that such a program existed. We are proud of everyone who has come to brave the cold (sometimes in bike shorts and other times in full on winter gear, fluffy mittens and all!) and visit us with donations that we continue to support and appreciate all donations given. For those who don’t know the Foods Scraps Drop Spot program, it was started during the summer as a pilot program with the brilliant concept of providing a composting program for apartments and new condominiums that usually have little to no form of composting (the form of composting they might have had was usually extremely pricey and inconvenient at times.) We are one of the first composting programs of our kind in Vancouver. We have had our fair share of stories of what people were doing before the program started. We have heard everything from sneaking food scraps into neighbors’ compost to begging Whole Foods to allow them to use their compost bins. When the Food Scraps Drop Spot pilot program was introduced, it quickly gained lots of momentum and support from the community. At times we were taken aback by how supportive people were and how well received everything was. People displayed their gratitude from hugs to high fives. We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue into the winter season and already the support continues! We have two locations at the Winter Farmers Market in Nat Bailey Stadium and at Gordon Neighborhood House. We will have either a volunteer or intern stationed to answer any questions you may have and to collect your postal code and donations. Unlike other common forms of composting we can collect things such as: cooked foods, bones, meats, coffee grounds and so on… to see a complete list of things you can bring and not bring you could check out the drop spot blog at: http://foodscrapsdropspot.tumblr.com/ You can simply come with a compostable (certified) plastic bag, food scraps in tupperware or a container, or empty out a plastic bag (although please avoid throwing the plastic bag in) into our composting bins at the locations. We are operating this program with volunteers, grant funding and funding through donations. We appreciate all donations and recommend users pay $2 each time they drop off food scraps. If you or a friend live in an apartment, condominium, or a place that does not have a form of compost, come out and visit us! Stop by and enjoy the market with your free time. We would love to see you. [The food scraps bins are collected by Recycling Alternative - CH]