Westchester County’s Department of Environmental Facilities Will Join Westchester Land Trust and D.I.G Farm for Successful Student-Led Grow Bag Program
Port Chester Middle School will distribute 60 grow bags to residents on Thursday, June 12, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. as part of its Grow Bag Program. The initiative encourages families to grow fruits and vegetables at home, promotes healthy food choices, and provides hands-on gardening experience.
The program is a collaborative effort led by Allison Fasano, a teacher who runs the garden at Port Chester Middle School, and Westchester Land Trust, who supplied the grow bags, resources, and program support. Student interns of D.I.G. Farm, founded by Allison Turcan, assisted by planting vegetable seedlings in the grow bags.
New this year, the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF) provided CompostED support. Master Composter Aleks Jagiello developed a custom potting soil mix using compost made at CompostED, peat moss and soil amendments donated by Westchester Land Trust. CompostED creates nutrient-rich compost from food waste collected from local food pantries, including Feeding Westchester, which will also distribute food during the grow bag pickup.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said: "Grow bag programs engage residents and youth, provide science education about the role of composting in supporting our soil and support those in our community who are taking control of their health by growing fresh vegetables and herbs. DEF's support of these programs is just one example of my administration's holistic approach to supporting County residents."
Westchester County First Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Facilities Louis Vetrone said: "When we first imagined the possibilities of CompostED, we knew it would provide on-site education about the benefits and methods of composting. We believed in a full-circle model, where inedible food donated to pantries could be composted and returned to the community through gardens. These grow bag programs go even further by bringing compost education and healthy food access directly into homes."
The Grow Bag Program continues to serve as an example of how public agencies, educators and nonprofits can collaborate to promote sustainability and improve public health.
In May 2025, CompostED supported a similar initiative in Mount Vernon, which was spearheaded by the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (Zeta Nu Omega Chapter) and supported by Westchester Land Trust and D.I.G. Farm. For that program, DEF donated all necessary soil amendments and compost to provide 6.5 cubic yards of potting soil, which allowed the initiative to distribute 250 grow bags to families in Mount Vernon.