a week in the kitchen

What do you in eat in an average week? How much of what you eat is shaped by culture? How much is shaped by your access to fresh fruits and vegetables? How would your diet change if you grew your own food?

A week’s groceries in an American household (from Hungry Planet) || photo copyright by Peter Menzel

Award-winning photojournalist Peter Menzel examined what families in 24 countries eat in a week, in his book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (Material World Books, Ten Speed Press, 2005). The book’s vivid family portraits and intimate interviews won Menzel and his wife and co-author Faith D’Aluisio the James Beard Best Book Award in 2006 for their extraordinary journalistic work.

The photo expose gained recent attention on Time Photos, ABC News, The Guardian, and blogs such as Fstoppers. Why are people drawn to this imagery? Each of Menzel’s photos speaks a thousand words about culture, equality, and health. The economics of industry and trade become paramount. Personal and national wealth are brought into comparative focus.

A week’s groceries in Ecuador (from Hungry Planet) || photo copyright by Peter Menzel

A week’s groceries in Chad (from Hungry Planet) || photo copyright by Peter Menzel

Disparities in a week’s worth of fresh fruits and vegetables from one photo to the next fascinates me. An American family with $342 worth of processed drinks, snacks, and meats is put in plain focus next to an Ecuadorian family’s $32 grain and produce diet. Why are these diets so diametrically opposed? What public health implications are raised?

Since the publication of these photos eight years ago the American diet has freshened for some, but for many it remains dominated by the highly processed products of agribusiness. With obesity and diabetes on the rise and fresh food inaccessible to many, we are beginning to see a resurgence in vegetable gardening. Impoverished areas of Philadelphia and Detroit increasingly look toward gardening as an empowering and practical solution to fresh food access. Public schools, such as those in Cambridge, MA are incorporating gardening into curriculum to reconnect kids with their food. Immigrant families are able to grow their own produce rather than relying on imports.

Access to fresh fruits and vegetables is essential in maintaining a healthy city, regardless of geography. Urban gardening proves fruitful in empowering, educating, and localizing production. When there’s no space on the ground, we must look to the roof for a food solution.

EAT UP in the media

Since EAT UP‘s publication on April 12th, the first book on rooftop agriculture has received its fare share of media attention.  The fascination?  Interest in growing food on rooftops is rising as farmland disappears, transportation costs increase, and urbanites realize they can grow their own food close to home.

In an April 30th Boston Globe article, “Coming to a Roof Near You,” reporter Joseph P. Kahn discusses the burgeoning rooftop agriculture movement by highlighting Boston’s forthcoming Higher Ground Farm and EAT UP.  The article includes fabulous images (some of which appear in the book) and quotes from a phone interview Kahn conducted with me several weeks ago:

Beyond the expertise required, “A big part of this is exposure and social media coverage,” Mandel continues. “When you couple rooftop agriculture with a restaurant or grocery store, you have a lot of marketing potential. There’s an element of sex appeal there, to be honest.” 

EAT UP‘s media coverage extends to the blogosphere, where journalist CG Lawrence – who attended last week’s Roof-to-Table Launch Event in Philadelphia – wrote about the launch and freshly published book in his post, “Don’t Eat Out: EAT UP: New Book on Rooftop Agriculture.”  Click here for a full list of EAT UP‘s media coverage, which includes newspaper, magazine, and radio coverage.  Hopefully we’ll see more stories sprout up as the press release below (released yesterday) digs its roots into newsrooms near and far.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Philadelphia Green Roof Designer Writes First Full-Length Book on Rooftop Agriculture

EAT UP | The Inside Scoop on Rooftop Agriculture 

Press Contact: Lauren Mandel (lauren.mandel@gmail.com / 518-221-6230)

Green roof designer, landscape architect, and Philadelphia-native Lauren Mandel breaks down the lofty notions of Rooftop Agriculture in the first full-length book about rooftop food production.

Author photo by Geoffrey Goldberg Photography

PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 29, 2013) – EAT UP, the first full-length book about rooftop food production, has been released by Philadelphia-based author and green roof designer, Lauren Mandel.  Published internationally by New Society Publishers (a carbon-neutral publishing house), EAT UPexplains the practices and practicality of rooftop agriculture through case studies, interviews with industry leaders, and useful checklists.  With over 60 percent of the global population now living in urban areas, innovative forms of food production such as rooftop agriculture are becoming increasingly important in addressing food needs while also appealing to those interested in growing fresh food close to home.

EAT UP culminates a three-year research and photography project for Mandel.  The book consists of three sections:  home rooftop gardening, commercial rooftop farming, and the rooftop agriculture industry, making it the most comprehensive guide to date on the subject matter.

The book was unveiled on April 25, 2013 at Philadelphia eatery Good Karma Café.  The Roof-to-Table Launch Event celebrated literature, art, and food by featuring a book signing, 30-piece photography exhibition of images from the book, and seasonal food sourced from local farms, complete with food mileage labels.  The Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition consists of images of rooftop farms and vegetable gardens taken by nine photographers (including Mandel) in nine cities throughout North America.  Each photograph is framed with “twice-reclaimed” lumber made from barn siding re-purposed as flooring, re-purposed again as framing stock.  The Exhibition will hang in the launch venue (925 Pine St.) through June 29, 2013, and will then travel to Chicago’s Uncommon Ground restaurant (1401 W. Devon Ave.) where it will hang from August 20 – September 15, 2013, with a Midwest launch event on August 20.  The exhibition is available for additional restaurant and gallery spaces from July 1 – August 1, 2013 and after September 23, 2013.

EAT UP is available in print and ebook from New Society Publishers (newsociety.com), Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, and local book stores.

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About Lauren Mandel – Lauren Mandel is a Project Manager and Rooftop Agriculture Specialist at the Philadelphia-based green roof firm Roofmeadow, where she designs vegetated and agricultural roofs and oversees green roof construction throughout the United States.  She has visited and photographed rooftop farms and gardens across North America and interviewed prominent rooftop farmers, CEOs, and designers.  Mandel is a contributing writer for Urban Farm and Grid magazines, a guest lecturer at universities and conferences, and a blogger ateatupag.wordpress.com.  Mandel holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from Skidmore College.  She has previously worked as a landscape designer, US Forest Service wilderness ranger, organic farm intern, and a research intern for American Farmland Trust.

For more information please visit eatupag.wordpress.com and roofmeadow.com.

Roof-to-Table Launch Event!

Roof-to-Table Launch Event || photo by Jane Winkel

It is my great privilege to announce that EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture was launched on Thursday amidst family and friends at Good Karma Café (928 Pine Street) in my hometown of Philadelphia.  The event drew in over 100 enthusiastic readers from as far as Toronto, who are now some of the first owners of EAT UP.  The book arrived at the event hot off the press after its publication on April 12, 2013.

Launch Event crowd || photo by Jane Winkel

Busy sales table || photo by Jane Winkel

The Roof-to-Table Launch Event celebrated three necessities of urban living: literature, art, and food.  Literature was highlighted through piles of fresh, EAT UP books topped off with a book signing (which was in high demand!).  The event celebrated Art through a 30-piece photography exhibition of images from the book, which painted a colorful backdrop for the festivities.  The Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition features images of rooftop farms and vegetable gardens taken by nine photographers (including myself) in nine cities throughout North America.  Each photograph is framed with “twice-reclaimed” lumber made from barn siding re-purposed as flooring, re-purposed again as framing stock.  The event also featured the flavors of fresh, local Food!  The Avenue Delicatessen catered the event with a focus on locally-sourced produce, artisan breads and honey, and home-made jams.  Food mileage tags let guests know just how close key ingredients were produced!

My grandmother with her book || photo by Jane Winkel

Young vegetable plants sprouting from metal pales and terracotta pots and two vintage typewriters furthered the event’s ”author’s farmhouse” theme.  Piles of EAT UP postcards and note card sets sprinkled about enhanced the decor, luring people in for a closer look at rooftop agriculture imagery.

The Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition will hang in the launch venue through June 29, 2013, and will then travel to Chicago’s Uncommon Ground where it will hang from August 20 – September 15, 2013.  A Midwest Roof-to-Table Launch Event on August 20 will be open to the public.  The exhibition is available for additional restaurant and gallery spaces from July 1 – August 1, 2013 and after September 23, 2013.

EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture, published by New Society Publishers (a carbon-neutral publishing house), is the first full-length book about rooftop food production.  Its three sections target home rooftop gardening, commercial rooftop farming, and the rooftop agriculture industry, making it the most comprehensive guide to date on the subject matter.  The book is available in print and ebook online and in stores.

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 strategy known as crowdfunding.

On April 9th South Philadelphia High School launched an online fundraising campaign to raise over $26,000 through micro-donations.  The publicly-sourced contributions will fund a full-time garden educator position and the development of a Greening Master Plan for the school’s 5.5 acre urban campus.  This first phase of funding will parlay into four additional campaigns that will address the complete design of rooftop and ground-level improvements and construction of the campus vision.

South Philadelphia High School’s urban context || image by Google Maps

5.5 acre campus || image by Google Maps

Multi-acre roof || photo by Lauren Mandel

The project goals are simple: education, healthy eating, and stormwater management.  The suite of infrastructural improvements outlined in the Greening Master Plan will present the school’s teachers with unique curriculum-building opportunities that take kids out of the classroom!  Math, biology, English, and culinary arts teachers will introduce skills and concepts through outdoor education, which has the potential to offer long-lasting impact for the school’s 1,400 students.   The greater community will benefit not only from empowered, motivated  kids, but also from public green space – something that the neighborhood lacks.

Turning the campus into an outdoor classroom and neighborhood gathering space will involve rooftop and ground-level improvements.  The roof will host an educational rooftop farm (likely 0.5 acre in size), extensive green roof areas, and solar panels.  The landscape below may feature rain gardens, porous pavement, street trees, and expanded vegetable garden plots (of which the school already has two).

The brains behind this forward-thinking initiative is the school’s own Principal Otis Hackney, a Philadelphia native.  Hackney dreamed up the project one day when speaking to the school’s part-time garden educator, Molly Devinney, who’s position is funded by the local civic association.  Devinney recalls Principal Hackney pointing to the roof in 2012 and asking, “Do you think we can grow food up there?”  Hackney shared his idea with Kim Massare, president of the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association (LoMO), who reached out to my company Roofmeadow to discuss the idea.  The whim quickly snowballed into a phased strategy for refining the vision and securing funds to ensure its execution.

South Philadelphia High School’s rooftop vision || rendering by Lauren Mandel

The team decided to  partner with Projexity, an online platform that raises micro-donations for neighborhood improvement projects, in order to engage the local and global community.  While Projexity targets projects internationally in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Toronto, the company was founded by three University of Pennsylvania alumni (two of them my classmates in graduate school).  With Projexity’s local roots and a crew of Philadelphians including Hackney, Devinney, Massare, and myself (my grandparents actually went to South Philly High), this project is by Philadelphia, for Philadelphia.  

Now is your chance to dream big with us.  Help South Philadelphia’s students and community members reach their goal by supporting this incredible “barn raising” initiative.  Please visit Projexity.com for more information on how to get involved and make a difference.

it’s official.

Ladies and gents!  Urban agricultural enthusiasts around the globe.  It is my great pleasure to announce that my book, EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture, will be published today!

The first copies are streaming off the press and will soon be shipped to online and brick and mortar booksellers throughout North America and beyond.  They should arrive within the next few weeks, but you can be one of the first to hold EAT UP in your hands by ordering through New Society Publishers, the book’s carbon-neutral publishing house.  The book is also currently available online at Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Amazon, Amazon UK, and Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.  Buying directly from New Society provides the most support to the publishing house that made this book possible.

Many local bookstores have EAT UP in their ordering system but may not carry the book on their shelves unless you ask them to!  Do your part to support mom and pop book shops by requesting that they carry EAT UP for the pleasure of browsers and localists.  Buying locally keeps money within the neighborhood and reduces shipping costs associated with ordering individual items by mail.

EAT UP is the first full-length book about rooftop agriculture.  It’s case studies, interviews, and checklists will provide the expert information you need to turn your dreams of rooftop farming and vegetable gardening into reality.

Get it while it’s hot!

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, which will yield a 20,000 square foot (0.5 acre) hydroponic rooftop greenhouse.  The Brooklyn market will represent Whole Foods’ eighth New York City location, and the first to house a commercial rooftop greenhouse.

Gotham Green‘s courtship with Whole Foods began with the company’s 15,000 square foot (0.3 acre) flagship location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which has sourced fresh produce to various Whole Foods locations since 2011.  The demand for roof-fresh greens and herbs is clearly through the roof, as the two companies embark on this new chapter in their relationship.

Produce grown in the rooftop greenhouse will be available in the store below (as well as in other Whole Foods New York locations), thereby minimizing transportation costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions.  As with Gotham Greens’ flagship location, no pesticides will be used on the crops as they mature in their hydroponic haven.  The greenhouse’s year-round production will incorporate sustainable technologies that include solar generated power and a sophisticated irrigation system that uses 20 times less water than conventional ground-level row farming.

But wait, there’s more!  The Daily News reports that Gotham Greens is slated to open an even larger commercial rooftop greenhouse in Jamaica, Queens.  This 60,000 square foot (1.4 acre) behemoth – one of the largest in the country – will occupy the roof of an industrial building.  The hydroponic facility is expected to create 30 jobs and yield approximately 500 tons of produce per year, according to Gotham Greens founder and CEO, Viraj Puri.

What do you think about year-round rooftop production?  Would your neighborhood welcome one of these cutting edge farms?

Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition!

Roof-To-Table Photography Exhibition flyer || by Lauren Mandel (photo credits to Lauren Mandel, The Fairmont Waterfront, Patrick Rogers Photography, Allen Ying Photography, Jake Stein Greenberg, and Ari Burling Photography)

The EAT UP | Roof-to-Table Photography Exhibition captures the vibrancy of North America’s burgeoning rooftop agriculture movement.  With fresh roofscape imagery and gritty portraiture, this collection of 30 colorful photographs portrays food’s journey from urban roof to plate.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of EAT UP | the inside scoop on rooftop agriculture, the first full-length book about rooftop food production.  The book includes over 100 images of skyline farms and vegetable gardens, most of which are printed in black and white to satisfy the publishing house’s carbon-neutral mission.  By featuring images from EAT UP, the exhibition aims to bring the colors of rooftop agriculture to life while spreading the imagery of a movement.

Each archival photograph is framed in double-reclaimed lumber that transformed from barn siding to flooring to frame stock.  EAT UP author Lauren Mandel curated this travelling exhibition.  The works of nine photographers showcase rooftop imagery from nine cities: Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Portland, San Francisco, Sarasota, Montreal, and Vancouver.  The contributing photographers are:

- Allen Ying Photography
- Ari Burling Photography
- Jake Stein Greenberg
- John Q. Porter
- Lauren Mandel, MLA, ASLA
- Lufa Farms
- Michael I. Mandel, PhD
- Patrick Rogers Photography
- The Fairmont Waterfront

The exhibition is now on display in Philadelphia at Good Karma Cafe (928 Pine St.) through June 29.  The show will travel to Chicago from August 20 through September 15, where it will occupy the walls of Uncommon Ground (1401 W. Devon Ave.), a restaurant with its very own rooftop farm.  The photographs are available for purchase (both framed and unframed), so stop by if you’re in the area!  If you’re interested in hosting this exhibition at your own gallery, restaurant, or public venue, please contact Lauren at lauren.mandel@gmail.com.

Rooftop agriculture is real, it’s happening. Now pick up a spade, a fork, or a pen and help kick-start this revolution.