During the pandemic, Vivian Lin was a sustainably-minded young architect living at home in New York City with her parents. She was working for a top international firm and decided to launch a compost company on the side. In just a few months, Vivian left her promising career behind and dedicated herself full-time to her fledgling business, Groundcycle. At the time, New York City had canceled compost collections. “I felt a sense of urgency,” she tells host Abena Anim-Somuah. “Everything was going to landfill.” 

Vivian shares the story of how Groundcycle has expanded to more of a closed-loop system. The company now picks up compost from residents, events, and small businesses including restaurants, coffee shops, and florists, and delivers vegetables from their farm partners. They also do food rescue, launched a zine called Seedlin, and hosted a zero-waste bake sale. Tune in to learn more about Vivian and Groundcycle.

Don’t miss Vivian’s voicemail to her future self.

More on Vivan: Groundcycle, website
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Future Of Food Is You transcripts can be found here

Hosted by Abena Anim-Somuah
Produced by Kerry Diamond, Catherine Baker, and Elizabeth Vogt
Edited by Jenna Sadhu
Content Operations Manager Londyn Crenshaw
Recorded at CityVox Studios in NYC

The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network