CRRA2021

Executive Director

Jessica Toth is the Executive Director of Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. Solana Center and Jessica have received awards for vision and leadership in waste diversion, including Leadership in California Organics Diversion from CRRA (2019), San Diego EMIES UnWasted Food (2018), Top Business Women in San Diego (2017), and California Governor's Environmental & Economic Leadership (2016).  Solana Center pioneered curbside recycling decades ago and continues today to foster environmental change through outreach and consulting. She holds a Master's degree from MIT in Business and a Bachelor's degree from Cornell in Engineering.

Food Cycle on Farmlands

In 2017, Solana Center established Food Cycle, a proof-of-concept food scrap drop-off program. Staff and volunteers process food scrap into compost. Due to increasing interest, onsite processing capacity has grown from 0.5 to 15 cy. Currently, 150 regular participants drop off food scrap and collect finished compost for their own uses, resulting in potential 24 MTCO2e/year avoided.

Having successfully demonstrated the feasibility and accessibility of mid-scale composting to serve a local community, Solana Center plans to take our program to the next level. Food Cycle on Farmlands will accept food scrap from food-generating businesses to be composted at agricultural properties. In addition to avoided greenhouse gas emissions through diversion, this program will quantify carbon sequestration from land-applied compost.

Our broader vision is to replicate the successful elements of Food Cycle on Farmlands at San Diego County’s 5,700 small farms. Estimated carbon sequestration opportunity on all 242,000 acres of land in agricultural production in the County is over 11M MTCO2e.

The issues surrounding wasted food are significant, involving resource depletion, climate change, and food justice. Solana Center is developing replicable models that are garnering widespread national interest. Our organization is working inside regional systems to make wholesale change to behaviors as well as infrastructure by creating solutions that individuals, organizations, and communities can embrace. The presentation will describe the current Food Cycle program and the vision for regional implementation of a closed loop system from local farms to local grocers and back to farms.