Our Supporters

Clif Family Foundation Grant

Torus is proud to have received a generous $20,000 grant from the Clif Family Foundation through its Open Call program. This general operating support strengthens the systems behind our free, community-based composting work across New Jersey.

Open Call Grant

An investment in accessible composting

The grant supports Torus as we work to make composting easier to access for New Jersey communities. Our service gives participating households and businesses a free way to keep food scraps out of the trash and take part in a practical local response to food waste.

Clif Family Foundation states that its Open Call grants support general operating costs. The program gives priority to applicants with strong community ties that operate at the grassroots level. That flexible support is especially valuable for Torus because reliable composting access depends on many connected systems working well every day.

The Foundation’s priorities include climate justice and healthy food access, along with regenerative and organic farming, food production worker health and safety, inclusive outdoor access, and pollution prevention. Torus is honored to be supported through this program.

Learn about the grant program →

How the grant helps

Strengthening the systems behind every pickup

Expanding free composting takes more than community interest. It requires dependable operations, useful education, the right supplies, careful measurement, and consistent communication. The grant will help Torus invest across five connected areas.

Torus composting buckets ready to support free community pickups

Collection logistics

Supporting the coordination behind dependable food scrap collection for participating households and businesses.

Participant education

Helping people understand how the service works and which food scraps and compostable materials Torus can accept.

Composting supplies

Providing the practical materials needed to operate a clean, accessible, community-based composting program.

Impact reporting

Strengthening how Torus measures, documents, and communicates the results of its food waste reduction work.

Community outreach

Connecting with more households, businesses, and community partners that want to reduce food waste in New Jersey.

Why it matters

Building capacity for long-term community impact

General operating support strengthens an organization as a whole. For Torus, that means improving the day-to-day foundation that allows free composting service, education, reporting, and community relationships to grow together.

This support arrives at an important stage in Torus’s development. As more people look for accessible ways to reduce food waste, Torus must be ready to meet that interest responsibly. Clear guidance, consistent supplies, reliable collection processes, and transparent impact reporting all help turn interest into lasting participation.

The grant does not change Torus’s central commitment: community composting access remains free. Instead, it helps strengthen the capacity needed to serve participants well and build thoughtful relationships with organizations across New Jersey.

A shared commitment

Supporting grassroots environmental action

Founded in 2006, Clif Family Foundation supports grassroots groups and works to transform food systems, revitalize the environment, and enhance community health. Torus is deeply grateful for the Foundation’s investment in our youth-led work and in the local systems that make community climate action possible.

Learn more about free composting with Torus, review the materials we accept for collection, or meet more of the organizations on our supporters and partners page.