Business Spotlight: 5Heart Earthworm Farm

Q: Tell us about 5Heart Earthworm Farm?

5Heart: The farm is set up on a family farm in Birch Run, Michigan, where food scraps are turned into nutrient-rich worm castings by our earthworms. These castings are packaged on the farm and ready to sell shortly after harvesting them!

Q: What are your services?

5Heart: We pre-compost and feed local food scraps to our red worms to be turned into Premium Worm Castings. All operations are performed directly on the farm, which includes compost and worm bed maintenance, Premium Worm Castings harvesting, and packaging and shipping. We strive to educate others on the benefits and ease of composting at home and the positive impact it has on waste reduction and creating healthy soils. We host a variety of workshops throughout the year on composting, indoor worm bins, soil health, and gardening. We are offering summer day camps for children this year and will host our 2^nd Annual Earthworm Festival and Open House this October!

Q: What is your involvement in the Give a Scrap program?

5Heart: We accept and process the food scraps collected from the Give A Scrap residential and business services. Once we receive them, they begin their journey to be turned into Premium Worm Castings! With the beginning of the Give A Scrap service, we upgraded our operations and built a large Worm Barn with more room for worm beds, workshops and more.

Q: What is the passion behind 5Heart?

5Heart: 5Heart Earthworm Farm is passionate about reducing waste and improving soil health! Sarah Archer, owner of 5Heart Earthworm Farm, has been having worms eat her food scraps for over 20 years and loves to teach about the benefits of using worm castings in the garden, flower beds, or in potted plants. In 2013, she took her worm bins from her basement and with her husband Darrell, set out to establish 5Heart Earthworm Farm.

Q: What are a few easy ways people can reduce the amount of food scraps sent to the landfill?

5Heart: There are several preventative measures people can take to keep food from being wasted. When preparing food at home, avoid buying more food than you will cook each week. Place the freshest produce towards the back of your refrigerator so that you eat the oldest food first. Use produce that is beginning to age in soups, stews, and casserole dishes. Collect the peeling and cuttings during food prep and compost them outdoors or with an indoor worm bin. For people not interested in composting, they can subscribe to the Give A Scrap Food Scrap Pickup Service offered by Iris Waste Diversion Specialists. They are currently serving neighborhoods in Saginaw, Bay City and Flint. Follow us on Facebook for composting tips and tricks!

Q: Anything else you would like to add?

5Heart: To learn more about the benefits of using Premium Worm Castings in your garden, check out our Products page at www.5heartwormfarm.com/our-products!