The Ray County Library turned into a hands-on classroom this week as Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) Solid Waste Management Grant facilitator Katy White and longtime compost educator and musician Stan Slaughter led a detailed workshop on food waste composting, simple home systems and practical strategies for reducing what ends up in the landfill. The class drew residents interested in everything from backyard compost piles to worm bins, small urban spaces and food digesters. White explained she and Slaughter began collaborating in 2020 when in-person presentations were halted during the early months of COVID. She was asked to help him find places to present, which eventually led them to develop a composting and food waste curriculum for grades five through 12, a project titled the Food Too Good to Waste science unit. According to White, the unit is available for Kansas educators because the state purchased the entire program. She said it has not yet been purchased in Missouri,…