You can Grow Food ANYWHERE (even on a roof!)

Have you ever tried planting lettuce on a farm in the middle of a thunderstorm? Well, neither had I - until last week. This was no ordinary farm either. It sits on top of a large Brooklyn building that’s used for filming movies most of the year - and aptly named, Rooftop Farms.

There have already been some great articles and blog posts about the farm, so I won’t regal you with too many details of their amazing feats but just imagine this: a lush 6,000 square foot organic farm grown in a just a few short months - it all started by using a crane to haul the correct amount of soil so that it wouldn’t weigh too much for the roof. How’s that for innovative? I’m excited if I can get a few tomatoes to grow in a pot! My lack of gardening knowledge is something I hope to rectify very soon - but I’d always assumed that I’d have to live somewhere like Seattle to grow food. I was wrong. Rooftop Farms offers volunteering opportunities and classes so that children and adults living in an urban setting can plant, pick, and eat fresh, local produce. Rooftop Farms grows lettuce, kale, eggplant, beans, tomatoes and more - which you can buy on Sundays between 9am-4pm. If you can’t make it on Sunday, you can taste their succulent goods at several nearby restaurants.

Who is behind this progressive endeavor? Annie Novak, farmer and Ben Flanner, business-man-turned farmer. Annie has a very impressive resume (she has farmed in a half a dozen countries including growing chocolate in Africa). She loves sharing her incredible knowledge and hopes that she can inspire others to find ways to grow food in alternative settings. Both her and Ben work very hard to make the farm accessible to everyone - especially kids. She also holds classes and workshops for kids through Growing Chefs and at The New York Botanical Garden.

I had the pleasure of coordinating a field trip to the farm last week for my students (HealthCorps coordinators). The plan was for us to farm for a couple of hours and then walk over to a wonderful new restaurant, Anella - where Annie and Ben arranged to have the produce we picked for our dinner. The weather, however, did not cooperate - a major thunderstorm hit that day. We all braved the rain to plant lettuce, stake tomato plants, and have a tour of the farm. I could have stayed there all day, even in my drenched clothes - maybe for the same reason I love cooking - there is something so fulfilling about working with food…especially when it means digging in the dirt.

We then shuffled over to the restaurant, Anella for what ended up being a VERY memorable meal of roasted beets with fresh herbs, pesto pasta with tomatoes, sautéed chard, truffled white pizza pie (yes, it was as good as it is sounds!),  bruschetta smothered in goat cheese and drizzled with a balsamic reduction - I have to stop now or I will put myself in a food coma just thinking about it. Let’s just say the meal was DIVINE.

The best part, for me, was witnessing the astounded looks of discovery and pleasure on my students’ faces. I’d spent a full month waxing on to them about how we should eat as many whole foods as possible - and that if we consume deliciously prepared meals made with “real” ingredients, we will feel so nourished and satisfied that we won’t crave junk food. Our lovely meal was the perfect ending to their training -  hearing me say the same thing over and over again was no where near as powerful as TASTING it.

The next day, I was thrilled to hear my students say, “After that dinner, I just felt so happy all evening” and “I was full but not stuffed and felt so satisfied” and my favorite, “I had no idea I could enjoy a vegetarian meal and feel full from it.” As an educator, my goal is to help my students make connections. I think (and hope) that my main message was made clear that evening: Pollan’s sage advice - eat real foods, mostly plants, and not too much. Okay, so, none of us did so well on the last one but I told them that if we were to eat those kind of meals ALL of the time (like many Europeans), we wouldn’t gorge on it! Instead, we’d eat small amounts and feel full and most importantly - feel happy.

For a new recipe for all of your summer vegetables, check out: Farmer’s Market Ragout (see blog post below).

For more information about urban farms, visit Rooftop Farms, Growing Chefs and Will Allen’s extraordinary successes as a city farmer.