Bears and compost

I've been talking up composting to a friend who is moving to Asheville, NC where, apparently, bears in backyards are not unknown. She's afraid she won't be able to compost kitchen scraps - vegetable only, of course. Does anyone have any experience in this area?

I lived in Asheville for four years and had a compost pile, to which I added kitchen scraps. No problems with bears in my neighborhood, but it will depend on which section of the city she lives in. If she's backing up to wooded areas or mountains, she'll probably have bears. They do sometimes come into the city limits, but usually it's to raid birdfeeders. Out in the county there's more likelihood of bears.

Our local composting guru suggesting making a hole in the compost pile using a long stick (like an old broom or mop handle). Just plunge it in and twist in a wide circle to make a wide hole, then dump in the compost and cover it up with the leaves, grass, etc. Shouldn't be a problem.

We have problems with wild pigs (and a sweet labrador who lives with us) so I compost (actually with Bokashi) in a 40 gal. rubbish can buried half way into soil. The bottom is cut out so it is always full of worms and breaks down quickly. No animals have gone after it....can't figure out how to snap off the lid, I guess!