Niles Township Food Pantry establishes composting program

Plan to repurpose spoiled food in fall

Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti has only been on the job since January, but quickly into her tenure she realized the Township Food Pantry was unnecessarily throwing away a lot of food.

Convinced that the township could make good use of that food, Kahn Ognisanti recently asked for and was given permission by the Skokie Village Board to start a composting station at the pantry.

Skokie promotes residential composting but the village had to give the township a zoning variance to allow composting on a larger scale. The board passed the variance during its July 20 meeting.

Kahn Ognisanti said extra food, or “food rescue,” tends to be donated by area grocery stores.

“Sometimes that food rescue is a little past the point where we want to give it away to our clients,” she said. “We have had to throw away all of that food.”

She said the composting station will open this fall, after a construction project at the food pantry at 8341 Lockwood Ave. is completed. The station will consist of three cedar bins, each 28 inches by 36 inches. Each bin will hold 16.8 cubic feet of composted material and the bins will be placed along a fence line away from residential properties.

“They should be really attractive because we are in a residential area,” she said.

She said the township is aware of the concerns of some residents who fear the composting station could potentially attract rodents.

“We’re going to take extra precautions to make sure rodents can’t infiltrate our compost,” she said. “The bins are designed with locks and we will add tight hardware cloth inside the bins so the cedar can’t get chewed through by rats.”

Bruce Jones, environmental health supervisor for Skokie, said the village added a clause in the agreement stating that if there is a rodent issue the township will have to dismantle the composting station and discontinue it until any infestation is eliminated.

“When people are doing it the right way it can be very successful,” he added.

Kahn Ognisanti also said the township will not be putting any “smelly food” in its compost bins. “We only want to have vegetative materials,” she explained. “No meat. No dairy.”

During the village board’s July 20 meeting, Skokie

Corporation Council Michael Lorge said “the township’s highly regarded food pantry is continuously in receipt of a very large and unfortunately inconsistent flow of perishable foods.”

“Much of the leftover food scrap waste can be composted to nourish the soil and conserve water,” he said. “The township has a uniquely significant need for a sustainable way to dispose of this excess food supply through on-premises composting.”

He added that Skokie is deeply committed to sustainability efforts and said the village has encouraged residential composting and other environmental programs.

Kahn Ognisanti said the compost will eventually turn into workable dirt that will be added to nearby community garden beds.