Transforming Food & Soul

If you’ve ever watched food decompose, you know that compost is a form of transformation. Banana peels, sandwich crusts, and slimy carrots metamorphose into nutritious soil with the help of sometimes microscopic decomposers. But what if the human decision to compost food could also be transformational?

That’s one of the driving questions behind Boxerwood’s Backyard Compost Challenge, our annual citizen science project in partnership with area localities that each spring helps local households commence – and sustain – new composting habits.

During the most recent iteration (our 5th!), 90 households from Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County each received grant-funded supplies to jumpstart their new habits: a backyard Earth Machine, pail, scale, and weekly online coaching from Boxerwood. By the end of May, 95% of those households had successfully completed the 10-week project, diverting a total of 4,198 pounds of food waste from the Rockbridge landfill. (Check out the Challenge’s full data summary page here.) 

“That number is impressive on its own,” said Challenge Coordinator Catherine Epstein, “but it’s even more meaningful given how composting can prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Food waste buried in a landfill releases methane, which according to the World Wildlife Fund can heat our planet 25-30 times more powerfully than carbon dioxide. So that 4,198 pounds isn’t just creating nutritious soil – it’s helping our whole community.”

In addition to this climate impact, the Challenge also transformed how participants thought about their role as Earth stewards. In a post-project survey, many noted a greater awareness of how their actions affect the world. As one wrote, “I’ve definitely been more attentive to what we’re tossing in the trash, and so have my kids.” Another shared that the Challenge had inspired her to “spread better awareness to my neighbors and family,” and another said that she is “dreaming more about how to be more sustainable every day and on our property.” These are common refrains that Boxerwood hears each year as the Challenge concludes, and we note with astonishment how simply introducing households to composting becomes a gateway to a lifetime of Earth stewardship. This project changes lives.

It is also very successful. Based on the final survey, 99% of households who completed the project plan to continue their new habit of composting. Just last week, Boxerwood received an unsolicited email from a 2025 participant. Nearly two months after the Challenge concluded, she wrote: “I wanted to let you know that this has really changed my home and mindset. We now have a hard time throwing away food leftovers outside of our home because of the established routine and knowledge this experience gave us. Thanks very much for the opportunity!” 

“It’s truly invaluable to hear that kind of feedback from Compost Challenge participants,” said Catherine. “We’ve designed the 10-week project not as a novelty experience, but as a launchpad for a lifetime of gratifying stewardship.” And it works. Over five years, the program has helped transform over 400 households and counting.

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