Press release
From Asheville Fungi
Asheville Fungi, Inc., a locally owned and operated business in Asheville, NC, announced this month that they have been awarded the prestigious Southern SARE Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant for 2014. Their grant proposal, entitled Closed Loop Mushroom Production on 100 Percent Waste Stream Substrate, was one of only 10 chosen out of a pool of 51 applicants. According to company President Joseph G. Allawos, the $8,000 grant will be used to formulate substrate recipes for growing edible mushrooms using 100 percent waste stream products like spent coffee grounds, spent distillery grains, soybean waste, cacao bean waste, contaminated grain products, sawdust and more. Asheville is a cornucopia of waste substrate due to the abundance of small, food based businesses. This pilot project will allow Asheville Fungi, Inc. to source these food waste products and turn them directly into mushrooms. The spent mushroom substrate will then be composted and used as fertilizer on a local vegetable farm, thus closing the loop. The ultimate goal is to formulate and test three different waste substrate recipes that can be used to grow all 14 of their current production strains. The results of the study, including the recipes, will then be shared with other mushroom growers in the region. The company believes that this pilot project will ultimately benefit communities at large because it creates a model for intercepting organic landfill waste and turning it into a source of protein.
About Asheville Fungi, Inc.
Asheville Fungi’s MUSHROOM CENTRAL is a sterile lab, spawn room, grow room and retail mycological supply store all in one. Our philosophy is to utilize waste stream resources from local businesses to grow delectable mushrooms. Such items include spent brewery and distillery grain, spent coffee grounds, used paper products, sawdust, and wood chips. We offer a wide variety of products for the mushroom grower, including colonized agar plates, liquid culture, grain spawn, sawdust spawn, and ready to fruit grow bags. Our retail store offers an excellent selection of equipment and supplies for every level of cultivation.Contact
For more information, contact Joseph Allawos at 828-273-9141 or visit www.shroomcentral.com
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