Two Delaware County businessmen experienced the Democratic National Convention in an unusual way, as they are the recipients of trucks filled with food waste collected from the Convention Center twice a day, writes Diane Mastrull for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

For the duration of the conference, Chris Pieretti and Steve Linvill got truck deliveries of an expected two tons of food and other dining-related waste for composting. The leftovers will be delivered during the night, partly to accommodate the DNC schedule and to comply with restrictions on commercial vehicles using I-95 while the convention is in town.

“The DNC called, so I’m happy to answer,” said Pieretti, who co-owns Kitchen Harvest with his wife Timi.

Kitchen Harvest has been doing its composting at the 350-acre Linvilla Orchards in Media for the past two years. The farm has been in the Linvill family for more than a century, and offers an abundance of high-carbon items such as dried straw and shredded leaves.

These are essential in converting other materials into nutrient-rich fertilizer, with the majority of it used by the orchard, while the rest is sold to residential and commercial customers.

For Linvill and Pieretti, the value of this contract comes from the publicity rather than any immediate financial impact to their respective bottom lines.

“It feels great to have this sort of publicity,” added Pieretti. “Anytime composting is mentioned, it helps me.”

Read more in the Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.
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Linvilla Orchard photo credit: pumpkins and squash to go via photopin (license)