Re: Gardens in the Sky - Food Security - A Community Gardener's Perspective

**A*@aol.com**

Guiding the conversation back to community gardening.

Roof gardening as an energy saving and air quality improving  strategy is 
great, as far as it goes.  The more of the surface area of this planet that is 
covered by green, either at ground level or at 60, 100 or 1000 feet is a very, 
very, good thing. 

However, with the intractable, it seems,  problem of hunger in this 
country... caused by our perverse destruction of family farms near cities in order to 
create suburban sprawl, centralized corporate farming which, in order to create 
"efficiencies" in distribution,  requires long distance trucking for most of 
our grocery basket - an average of 1,400 miles and an attitude on the part of 
our planners that verges on Malthusian, volunteer efforts will necessarily 
need to be made to feed the destitute,  our seniors, children and interestingly, 
the working poor that are increasingly filling our food pantries and soup 
kitchens.

Yes, the working urban poor - the folks who park cars, make deliveries and 
even work the check-out counters at the supermarkets are frequent users of our 
voluntary, emergency food security system.  With the current financial 
recession and conservative bent of the federal government, we are turning hungry 
people away from our soup kitchens more - demand is that great. 

I suggest that as part of the food security net of our municipalities that 
low lying industrial buildings with strong roofs be retrofitted and or designed 
(with tax credits ,of course) to house roof gardens designed to feed our 
hungry.  Whether they are tended by employees of the host companies (as a kind of 
volunteer effort) or by gangs of community garden volunteers, the use of these 
roofs in this summer to grow fresh produce and as greenhouses in the winter 
would go a long way towards helping ease the crisis. 

Community roof gardens in schools, hospitals, senior centers or even prisons 
in densely populated urban areas with reasonable rain and sunshine could aid 
in this effort as well as being amenities for the humans who "go up there."

Honestly, someday, I'd love to see a rooftop gardening community that really 
serves their community at large in terms of feeding it, providing open space 
and relaxation, apply for membership in the ACGA. <A 
HREF="http://www.communitygarden.org/";>American Community Gardening Association</A> 

Best wishes,
Adam Honigman
Volunteer, 
 <A HREF="http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org/";>Clinton Community Garden</A>

<< Subj:     [cg] Gardens in the Sky
 Date:  7/2/03 1:57:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time
 From:  greenroofs@earthlink.net (greenroofs)
 Sender:    community_garden-admin@mallorn.com
 To:    community_garden@mallorn.com (Community Garden), 
zyoungerman@earthpledge.org (Zach Youngerman), skyprice@iserv.net (Cynthia Price)
 CC:    Rick@solaroofgarden.com (Rick Nelson), ANPRC2004@yahoo.com (Dave 
Dobbins), technician77@juno.com (David Cooke), mrideau@nj.rr.com (Michael Rideau)

 To Zach, Cynthia, and the Community Garden list:
    Here is an excellent article about the increasing acceptance of
 greenroofs and gardening on rooftops. Zach, I came to the Green Roofs
 Conference at the Earth Pledge Foundatiuon last year.  I am glad to see your
 research being done on this worthwhile endeavor. I am part of a non-profit
 group named ANPRC. (A New Perspective Restoration Company) Among other
 goals, we have a vision of using organic hydroponic growing methods, along
 with recycling food wastes with earthworms, (vermiculture) and then growing
 more vegetables and herbs from the worm castings. Marketing the produce to
 the same restaurants who supplied the food wastes will complete the
 innovative project.  I live in New Jersey and we are initiating some
 projects locally.  We would like to Collaborate with The EarthPledge
 Foundation's efforts.
     We have two support groups for growing food. To read archived postings,
 or to subscribe to our Do-It-Yourself Greenhouse Development Group, go to
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solaroof/

 To read about and participate in a list for people who want to explore
 non-exploitive methods of partnering and "doing business", please go to:

 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OpenEcoCollaboration

     The OpenEco Collaboration Yahoo Group page can serve as another forum
 for a discussion on this topic and project.  You will find other articles of
 interest on rooftop growing here.
     Regards to all,

     Peter J. Sullivan
     http://www.anprc.org/

 http://www.consciouschoice.com/environs/gardensinthesky1307.htm >>

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