Cape Cod Challenger Green Fertilizer won first place in the entrepreneurial pitch contest sponsored by the philanthropic foundation Entrepreneurship for All South Coast (EforAll). Held virtually, owing to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the online contest was a fast-paced, fun community event held to help early-stage entrepreneurs gain valuable exposure and feedback on their business idea. The first place prize was $1,000.
The Cape Cod based-garden fertilizer is an extension of the Cape Cod Challenger Club, a non-profit based in Osterville.
Cape Cod Challenger Green Fertilizer is made from a unique base of 100 percent recycled food waste from Barnstable High School and Spaulding Rehab Hospital in Sandwich. Since its founding more than 25,000 pounds of food waste has been repurposed into three specific fertilizer formulas: hydrangea, tomato, and all purpose.
Producing this environmentally conscious fertilizer are students from Christine Spence’s special education transitional program at Barnstable High School gaining valuable job training skills. Each school day the students process the food waste and load it into a unique commercial dehydrator. After the machine cycles the food waste, it is an odorless, nutrient rich mulch, the only byproduct being water. It is then transported to the Challenger Club facility in Osterville, where it is mixed with the byproduct from Spaulding Rehab Hospital and additional nutrients are added and blended. From there members of the Challenger Club label and package the final product, ready for sale at local garden stores.
“Winning this prize is validating for this project and the money will go directly to outdoor retail displays in garden centers. The more fertilizer we sell, the more food waste gets recycled and the more jobs we create” says Andrew Todoroff, program director. “This process of turning food waste into fertilizer and creating meaningful work opportunities for people with disabilities is a winning formula.”
Cape Cod Challenger Green Fertilizer is sold in over a dozen local garden centers from Sandwich to Eastham with their hydrangea blend being their best seller.
For more information about the Cape Cod Challenger Club and the Cape Cod Challenger Green Fertilizer visit Capecodchallenger.org
