food city scenario

What would your city look like if urban agriculture drove development? The University of Arkansas Community Design Center posed this question in 2012 when a team of designers, scientists, lawyers, and students explored what their rapidly densifying city of Fayetteville, AR would…

major league crops

The Kansas City Royals may have won this year’s World Series, but the Boston Red Sox were the real 2015 winners.  While this American League team’s game may not have been up to snuff, it’s historic stadium…

Philly’s tipping point

On March 19th ten players in Philadelphia’s urban farming community received a whopping $5 million grant award aimed at kickstarting healthy eating, exercise, and community building opportunities for local teens.  The IMPACT Grant, awarded by GlaxoSmithKline…

hungry for acreage

We’ve been keeping an eye on Gotham Greens since the rooftop farming pioneer opened its first commercial greenhouse in 2010.  The Brooklyn-based company’s 15,000 square foot (0.3-acre) flagship farm, in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood, yields 100 tons of…

hyper-local food

North Carolinians, you’re in luck!  You’re lust for local food journalism has been assuaged by Food Life, a new foodie magazine recently released by parent company Sophie Magazine.  The budding farm-to-fork publication has taken an interest in rooftop agriculture by…

learning from Cuba

Let’s face it, we’re all a little obsessed with our own garden.  I spend time with my rooftop vegetables like any good gardener and talk to friends about their latest gardening fads and experiments.  But what if…

open source seeding

Earlier this week a group of scientists and food activists launched a campaign to change how seeds are governed.  Headed by University of Wisconsin vegetable breeder Irwin Goldman and sociologist Jack Kloppenburg, the Open Source Seed Initiative released 29 new crop…

micro-fund this barn raising

What if you gave $26,000 to a school to build a rooftop farm?  What if 260 of your friends each gave $100?  South Philadelphia High School is elbow deep in the latter scenario thanks to a…

Gotham Greens + Whole Foods = fresh

It’s official.  Whole Foods Market and New York-based rooftop farming company Gotham Greens are partnering on a high-tech greenhouse atop the supermarket chain’s forthcoming Gowanus location.  The Gothamist Daily reported that on April 1, Whole Foods announced the partnership,…

foodie-ism at its finest

Philadelphians are hot for local food.  This week in particular highlights the extent to which urbanites from the City of Brotherly Love are invested in furthering local food production through action, purchasing power, and dialogue.  I…