Page 32 - Flathead Beacon // 9.16.15

TRANSACTIONS 33 BUSINESS IS PERSONAL 34
Business
From Soil to Table
to Soil Again
DIRT Rich composting business in Columbia Falls seeks to recycle food scraps to enrich local gardens
BY MOLLY PRIDDY
Rachel Gerber, left, and Alissa LaChance at DIRT Rich Composting in Columbia Falls. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
COLUMBIA FALLS – Standing in the shell of a gravel pit, sur- rounded by detritus from lawns, piles of sawdust, a few choice lumps of cow manure, hay bales and an electric fence, Alissa LaChance and Rachel Ger- ber truly understand that age-old adage about one person’s trash being another’s treasure.
The trick of turning garbage into gold is time, and largely staying out of nature’s way. LaChance and Gerber are the propri- etors of DIRT Rich, a new composting and pick-up service based in Columbia Falls.
In the piles at the bottom of the pit, the smell of organic decomposition means the microbes, insects, and fungi – nature’s little helpers – are getting to work breaking down the organic matter. The result is a compost mixture full of the natural elements needed to replen- ish soil and grow better plants.
It’s nature’s way of recycling, Gerber said, which is an easy way to think about DIRT Rich’s endeavor. The idea behind it is simple: When we pull food from the Earth, we take with it all the nutrients it needed to grow. So if we don’t eat that
food, we can let it decompose back to a more basic state, to then nurture the soil. Composting is the next logical step in
the farm-to-table movement, she said. “The farm-to-fork movement is so huge right now, and it’s catching on here,” Gerber said. “This is the scraps-to-soil
part.”
Adding another step to a culture focus-
ing on the importance of local food made sense to Gerber and LaChance, and they opened DIRT Rich in mid-July, armed with a Ford F-550 truck to help haul food scraps.
Their first customer was Xanterra,
the concessionaire running the lodges and restaurants in Glacier National Park. From July until just this week, DIRT Rich managed to collect 21 tons of food scraps from restaurants at Rising Sun, the Many Glacier Hotel, Swiftcurrent, Jammer Joes, and the Lake McDonald Lodge.
Rising Sun closed early in the season due to the wildfire that plagued East Glacier this summer, so the bulk of the 21 tons came from just four restaurants.
Now that they have their system in place, Gerber and LaChance are hoping
Welding, Blacksmithing & Fabrication
WROUGHT IRON EXPERTS!
Iron Stair Rails, Gates, Furniture, Signs, Fireplace And More!
406-892-4030 3816 Mt Hwy 40 Columbia Falls www.acutechworks.com
32
SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM