Volunteer with the Baltimore City Dept. of Public Works!

Looking for an easy opportunity to help the environment? Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) is recruiting volunteers to help out at the farmers’ markets on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  

They are collecting food scraps every Saturday from 7:00am to 12:00pm at the 32nd Street Farmers’ Market and every Sunday from 7:00am to 12:00pm at the JFX Farmers’ Market. 

As part of the Food Matters Baltimore program, DPW and Baltimore Office of Sustainability are working together with local farmers to promote food scrap recycling citywide. Some of the farms that work with our food scrap drop off program compost the scraps while others feed them to pigs. These are sustainable ways to dispose of food waste, as the materials are recycled back into the ecosystem and help local farmers.  

Volunteers help keep the drop off site organized and share information about food waste with residents. These drop off centers accept fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, loose leaf tea, grains, and egg shells. Because the scraps are being fed to pigs it is important to remember the food scrap guidelines and avoid contaminants such as paper towels and produce stickers. Volunteers can ensure that the material dropped off meets the criteria.