Environment & Nature

Dallas skatepark turns into a zero-waste community hub

KERA | By Yfat Yossifor

Published May 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM CDT

Liam Hernandez attempts the vertical ramp while others play basketball Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The skatepark opened in 2015, but during the pandemic expanded into food rescue and distribution providing healthy food to families weekly.

Tucked in a small, crumbling street between warehouses, 4DWN doesn’t seem like much from outside the gates.

Inside, it's a colorful, imaginative space for skating, arts and community.

'Run off of love from this place' Dallas skatepark is a zero-waste community hub

Andrew Mitchell along with other volunteers sorts through food to create boxes that will be delivered to families experiencing food insecurity Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. Volunteers come on Sundays to sort and box food for delivery.

Co-founders Mike Crum and Rob Cahill before the Sunday Service with volunteers to box food for delivery Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The two professional skaters started 4DWN as a place to cultivate skate culture.

Despite being surrounded by food distribution warehouses, 4DWN is located in a part of town classified as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A food desert is defined by areas that are low-income that lack access to stores selling healthy and affordable food.

During the pandemic, 4DWN began a weekly food distribution to help neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

“We rescue the food, divert it away from the landfill where it really causes hard of harm to the environment and distribute it back to the food desert where it can do a multitude of good things,” Co-founder Rob Cahill said.

Lucia Phelps, 12, carries a bag of lettuce to sort into boxes delivered to families Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. In order to rescue healthy food, 4DWN needed a way of preserving it first. The team built a cold storage by installing an AC unit to an insulated shipping container.

A volunteer checks tomatoes for spoils to compost before food is boxed up for delivery to families experiencing food insecurity Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. Researchers say American waste 40 percent of food generated. 4DWN rescued food, composts spoiled items and feeds families weekly with the rest.

Courtney Long, left, and Andrew Mitchell throw spoiled food to the compost bin before food is boxed up for delivery to families experiencing food insecurity Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas.

A volunteer throws spoiled vegetables into the compost bin while getting boxes ready to be delivered to families Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The facility has a zero-waste initiative to recycle and compost everything they don’t use.

The group sees their work as a combination of food justice and environmentalism.

One of the ways 4DWN focuses on the environment is by being a zero-waste facility.

Volunteers collect spoiled food in green compost bins, and later add it to 4DWN's compost pile designed by Neil Kaufman, assistant director of Sustainability and Urban Agriculture at Dallas College.

Kaufman's design is called a static aerated composting system that uses pipes to pump air into the pile to speed up the process and reduce labor.

Neil Kaufman, assistant director of sustainability and urban agriculture at Dallas College, turns the compost pile Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The facility has a zero-waste initiative and Kaufman has designed the composting system on a half acre field behind the park. — Neil Kaufman of Dallas College, turns the compost pile Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. Researchers say Americans waste about 40 percent of food generated. That includes food that doesn't meet the grocery store standards, as well as food thrown out from refrigerators.

Volunteers sort through food rescued from several organizations to create boxes that will be delivered to families in need Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The skatepark began food distributions during the pandemic and continues as the need has persisted.

Volunteers box up rescued food for delivery to families experiencing food insecurity Sunday March, 5, 2023, at 4DWN Skatepark in Dallas. The food comes from various partners in the area to help feed families and redirect food from the landfill.

The compost pile sits on a half acre behind the skate ramps where one day soon the 4DWN team hopes to plant a regenerative farm.

Regenerative farming uses holistic principles to restore soil nutrition, reduce water use and sequester carbon in the soil.

They also plan to build a hydroponic farm on the back of their famous vertical ramp, as well as bring in schools to farm with them and offer cooking classes.

"We really do work hard. We do but I liberally run off of love from this place. That is the gas in my tank," Theresa Tumminia, director of Outreach & Programming, said.