Green Action Fund Project Proposal
Mushroom Production from Used Coffee
Grounds on Campus
Project Proposer: Matt DeCapo, Joseph Hong, Anastasia Slough
Advisor: Dr. Rhonda Janke, Farm Manager: Clayton Holthouse
Introduction
For Sustainable Water and Sanitation Systems class
in Fall 2012, we created a proposal to grow mushrooms in
coffee grounds from Radina’s on campus at the Leadership
Studies building. We have tested various strains of
mushrooms to see what strains grow best in what
substrates. We would like to bring the mushroom
production to the KSU Student Farm so that they are able
to grow mushrooms and sell them at the Farmer’s Market.
The picture to the right shows Joseph Hong with
various different types of mushrooms growing in coffee
grounds combined with other substrates. We have
determined good mushroom types and substrates for
mushroom production and now we are ready to get this
institutionalized at KSU through the Student Farm.
Project Description
We will grow mushrooms from coffee grounds gathered from our community and be
able to show the process to Student Farm Club, SEA, and any other interested groups. The
Student Farm Club can sell mushrooms at the Farmer’s Market. We will produce food and
fertilizer from coffee grounds that are currently getting shipped to the landfill. Dr. Janke’s
students will have more opportunities to learn different types of food production. Growing
mushrooms from coffee grounds and other plant materials is especially beneficial for urban
areas that need local food production.
Sustainability and Environmental Benefits to Kansas State University
We will produce food from what is considered a waste product, then we will compost
what is left and produce fertilizer. Instead of paying to send these materials to the landfill,
we will get nutritious food and valuable fertilizer. We must
restore the nutrient cycles that we have destroyed by
landfilling food and organic waste.
We will decrease waste sent to landfill, conserving
space in the landfill. Energy will be saved by dealing with
the organic materials locally. Students will be empowered
with skills that will help them to save resources and reduce
waste in the future.
The locally produced, nutritious food will help feed
the community through partnerships with Ecumenical
Campus Ministries’ Real Food Lunch Program and sale at
Farmer’s Markets.
Student Involvement in Project Implementation
Students in horticulture will learn many techniques of
how to grow mushrooms. KSU students will see how what we
often consider waste can still be used for many, many things.
Students who visit coffee shops will learn more about project
through our educational materials.
Radina’s in Leadership Studies still separates coffee
grounds, but we do not have the funds to keep mushroom
production going full time. This grant will help us produce
more mushrooms so that all of the workers at coffee shops
participating in this program will know that their used coffee
grounds are going to produce food. This knowledge will spread
through our student body as long as we keep up the mushroom
production.
Many students work at coffee shops in the community as
well, and there has been an interest from student employees at
Arrow Coffee Co. to start producing mushrooms from their spent
coffee grounds as well. We will work with many different
people to spread awareness about the savings incurred from
reducing landfill waste and about the benefits of mushroom
production and composting. Our collaboration with all
interested coffee shops in Manhattan will form powerful
sustainability networks needed to solve waste issues in our community.
There will be students picking up the coffee grounds at a regular interval (3x/week).
They will also learn about all of the different aspects of mushroom production from Joseph
Hong, who has years experience with cultivating mushrooms and other crops on the Student
Farm.
Benefits to Kansas State Student Body
More locally produced food will reduce energy consumption of food system. Students
will learn very valuable skills in mushroom and compost production. Costs with dealing with
waste in our community will decrease through local, novel organic waste management. The
Student Farm can sell mushrooms and fertilizer to community. The Student Farm will have
more income sources so that it will be able to continue
providing great educational experiences to future students.
The nutrients and organic matter in the coffee
grounds will eventually be composted and used to return
vitality and health to the soil in our community. This will
help the soil support more plants and absorb more rain
water, reducing vulnerability to flooding in our community.
Project Administration and Budget
Dr. Rhonda Janke will be the project administrator and will ensure the distribution of
funds to the students performing the work of project. There will be a farm manager
(Clayton), two student project overseers (Matt and Joseph), and Student Farm workers led by
Anastasia Slough. There is an expected 15 weeks of work time (beginning of February to end
of May). After this, it is hoped that profit from the mushroom sales can further finance
mushroom production for the rest of the year. Matt and Joe will volunteer additional hours
training students so that they will be able to take over the mushroom production in following
semesters.
The expected amount of time worked by each group and total pay is listed below:
Person
Hours / Week
Pay Rate per Hour
Total Cost
Farm Manager
5
14.30
$1072.50
Joe
2
8
$240
Matt
3
8
$360
Anastasia and Crew
5
8
$600
The expected distribution of tasks is as follows:
Task
Dr. Rhonda Janke Farm Manager
Project Overseer
X
Joe and Matt
Anastasia
Pick Up Coffee
Grounds
X
Start Spawn
Transfer Spawn
X
Production
X
Educational
Workshop
Hours Total
X
X
32
Total Funds Requested: $2,272.50
75
X
X
X
X
X
X
75
75
Dr. Rhonda Janke will ensure that all tasks are being accomplished. Matt will be in
charge of working with Bill Spiegel, manager of the Recycling Center, to collaborate with the
staff’s existing programs to pick up organic waste from dining centers on campus. Matt and
Anastasia will work with other coffee shops in the community to expand collection to as many
locations as possible. Matt and Anastasia will get many diverse students involved through the
clubs Students for Environmental Action (SEA), Student Farm Club, Rotaract Club, Engineers
Without Borders, and Ecumenical Campus Ministries. Matt and Joe will take charge of
teaching the basics of mushroom production to all involved. Joe will be in charge of training
Anastasia and crew to produce mushroom spawn and learn proper sterilization techniques.
Anastasia and the Farm Manager, Clayton, will transfer the mushroom spawns to the Student
Farm Mushroom Production Area. Matt and Dr. Janke will compile all the information about
mushroom production and insights gained from this project into a fact sheet. Anastasia and
Matt will work with SEA to create an educational video about the project to share with the
Manhattan community. We hope to involve interested students and community members at
every step in the process so eventually Manhattan will have a knowledgable group of people
committed to making sure coffee grounds are not sent to the landfill and instead used to their
fullest. We hope to provide enough training and educational materials to the KSU community
so that the project will continue for many years into the future.
Project Timeline
-
-
-
-
February
o
Meet with all coffee shop participants and arrange schedule to pick up coffee
grounds (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of every week) - Matt and Anastasia
o
Train students to produce spawn and get mushroom cultures ready for larger
scale production - Joseph Hong
March
o
Continue to pick up coffee grounds 3x / week - Anastasia and crew
o
Matt, Anastasia, Joe, and Clayton will transfer spawn to larger substrates and
move to the Student Farm for large scale production
o
Matt will involve many student groups and spread awareness to community
April
o
Produce mushrooms at Student Farm - Clayton, Anastasia, Farm Club, SEA
o
Publicize project and sell at Farmer’s Market when it opens in late April as well
as at Earth Day Events on campus - sell first mushrooms at Farmer’s Market
May
o
Continue to keep up mushroom production and sales to community
o
Compost all remaining organic waste for local gardens
o
Create mushroom fact sheet, video, and organize educational workshop
o
Write final paper to explain all accomplishments of project
Additional Information:
Real Food Lunch is an
excellent program put on by
Ecumenical Campus Ministries
open to anyone. Mostly students
are involved. Whoever is
interested picks up ingredients
and cooks a delicious healthy
meal for the community. Free
will donations are accepted to
help support future meals.
The mushrooms we
produce will help support future
meals. The compost we produce
will fertilize the ECM’s garden,
making more local fresh
vegetables, fruits, and herbs
available to the community. ECM
and all who patronize the great
Real Food Lunch program will
help to spread publicity about
how we can grow mushrooms
from used coffee grounds. This
project will have enormous
benefits for the community and
future KSU students who want to
eat more local healthy food and
learn how to produce it in their
community.
Future Project Expansion:
We will continue to work
to expand the number of coffee shops included in our project and the different types of
mushrooms we produce. We will work with the Union Renovation team to demand composting
of all post consumer organic waste from the Union Food Court. We will work to sell
mushrooms and other student farm products back to the campus community. The architects
working on the Union Renovation project said that students demanded local food as one of
their top priorities for the new Student Union Food Court. We aim to help students be able to
meet this demand long into the future.