Steve Slipchinsky and DEP Receive Awards 
for the Foodshare Organics Recycling Project

Steve Slipchinsky receives EPA’s Environmental Merit Award.

For Immediate Release: April 22, 2003; Release # 03-04-18

BOSTON – In honor of Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Office today recognized four individuals and organizations from Connecticut with Environmental Merit Awards, including one lifetime achievement award. The awards, given out since 1970, honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts to preserve the region's environment. This year's competition drew nearly 100 nominations from across New England.

"The individuals and groups we are honoring today are New England's real environmental heroes," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England Office. "Often with little fanfare, they have invested huge amounts of their time to make New England's environment cleaner and safer for future generations. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude."

The winners from Connecticut were among 40 from across New England. Awards were given in the categories of individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Also, for the first time, special lifetime achievement awards were presented this year.

Individual Award

Steve Slipchinsky, Windsor, CT - Steve Slipchinksy has worked tirelessly to implement an innovative organic recycling program for Foodshare, a nonprofit food bank in Connecticut. Slipchinsky is the agricultural marketing coordinator for Foodshare which distributes thousands of pounds of donated fresh produce per week to a network of Greater Hartford food pantries. Concerned that large volumes of produce were spoiling and being thrown away, Steve obtained a state grant to investigate innovative solutions for recycling food waste. After much collaboration and hard work, he installed new equipment – the first of its kind in the US – that consists of a large food grinder that pulverizes the spoiled produce into liquid slurry. The slurry is periodically removed from a 6,000-gallon tank and then delivered to markets and farmers who use it as composting feedstock. During the first six weeks of operation, 28,000 pounds of spoiled produce was diverted from the local incinerator and 3,000 gallons of slurry was recycled by composting it. This project can have only a positive long-term effect on the environment as they continue to pull wet, heavy, nitrogenous materials out of the incinerator and convert it to natural fertilizer. This project could easily be replicated at other produce terminals, supermarkets and institutions around New England and Slipchinsky is eager to share his knowledge, either by phone and on tours.

DEP receives Foodshare’s 2002 Greater Hartford Hunger’s Hope Award.

Foodshare, greater Hartford’s regional food bank, has chosen the Department of Environmental Protection to receive their 2002 "Hunger’s Hope Award". This award is given annually to donors, volunteers and organizations that help make Foodshare’s work possible. DEP was honored for their assistance in establishing an organics recycling program at Foodshare’s fresh produce facility located in the Hartford Regional Market. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of this new facility, and the award ceremony took place during Foodshare’s annual meeting on March 27 with Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell as keynote speaker.

Foodshare Pilot Project | Organics Recycling

Content Last Updated February 14, 2020