U.S. Composting Council
Million Tomato
Compost Campaign
December 6, 2012
The Million Tomato Compost Campaign!
National campaign to introduce Americans to the value of compost by:
• Connecting the benefits of compost to sustainable, local food
• Engaging sustainable chefs
• Growing a million tomatoes in compost for food banks
• Donating compost to community gardens
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Our Compost Messages
• Grows healthier, bigger plants
• Builds healthy soil
• Replaces chemical fertilizers
• Holds water, reduces runoff
• Local, sustainable product
Campaign Partners
National Chef/Spokesperson
• Nathan Lyon
Local Chefs
• Collaboration with organizations such as Chef’s
Collaborative, Slow Food USA
Community Gardens
• American Community Gardening Association, American
Public Gardens Association
Food Banks
• Ample Harvest – online matching service for gardeners +
food banks
How Does the Campaign Work?
•
STA certified producers sign on to donate compost to
community gardens
•
Community gardens sign up to participate in
Campaign, receive donated compost
•
USCC promotes Campaign in national media and on
social media
•
USCC provides members with promotional toolkit,
access to network of community gardens and chefs in
local markets
•
USCC members promote Campaign in local markets
•
Members share your photos, videos and stories!
Spokesperson - Chef Nathan Lyon
• Author of “Great Food Starts Fresh”
• Chef and co-host of Growing A Greener
World (PBS)
• A Lyon in the Kitchen (Discovery Health
& Fit TV)
• Guest chef/expert on Real Simple Real
Life and Home Made Simple (TLC)
• Finalist on The Next Food Network Star
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature
=player_embedded&v=euqVQxa-aXs
National Campaign Launch
March 2013
• National media stories
-
Chef announces Million Tomato Compost
Campaign - compost grows healthy food
-
Challenge gardens to sign on to the Million
Tomato Compost Campaign
-
Urge gardeners to look for STA-certified
compost to build healthy soil
-
Kids plant tomatoes in compost
• Compost donations tracked & celebrated on
compostingcouncil.org
• Social media outreach
Million Tomato Campaign Continues
March 2013-June 2013
• Promotional toolkit provided to local partners
• Network of chefs available to participate in local events at community
gardens
• Network of community gardens
• Local partners post photos of planting, donation, gardens and kids!
• Engagement with all local sites via social media, photo and videos
Million Tomato Campaign Culmination
July 2013
National media stories
• Stories on national TV morning show & in print
media
• Chef appears on morning show to announce the
million tomatoes, amount of compost donated
• Kids bring tomatoes on the show, destined for food
banks
• Describe how compost builds healthy soil, which
grows great tomatoes
Local media stories
• Highlight compost donations, gardens
• Emphasizes community involvement in sustainably
growing local food with compost
Social media
Tracking success
• Media stories
• Social media impressions
• Number of tomatoes grown
• Number of tomatoes donated to food banks
• Number of community gardens participating
• Quantity of compost donated
2013 Timeline
March
Launch Campaign
Stories in national media
Local events begin
Push out campaign through social media
April
Continuing engagement on social media
Local partners promote via local media
May
Local partners promote via local media
Continuing engagement on social media
June
Local partners promote via local media
Continuing engagement on social media
July
Campaign culmination
Push out campaign through social media
Stories in national & local media
How to Participate in the Campaign
•
Use the Campaign logo and web button
•
Issue a press release about the Million Tomato Compost Campaign, your
participation, and the benefits of compost
•
Promote the campaign through social media
- Re-tweet & post USCC Facebook messages, and those of chefs, campaign
partners, other USCC members, and media stories
•
Set up a cooking demonstration at your local community garden
•
Promote the Million Tomato Compost Campaign at your retail location
through signage, a compost giveaway, a compost use demonstration, a
speaker, or other special event
•
Hold a public planting event at your local community garden and invite the
media
USCC Member Marketing Kit
• Template press releases announcing Million Tomato
Compost Campaign
• Fact sheet about Campaign and STA-certified compost
• Campaign logo and tagline
• USCC website
• Million Tomato Compost Campaign web button linking
to campaign site
• Tips for growing in compost
• Chef-authored recipes for healthy kid-friendly food
grown in compost