The concept of rooftop gardens and urban farming is not new, but one San Francisco Bay Area company is testing out a new urban agriculture plan to construct and operate year-round, sustainable growing systems on supermarket rooftops. 

Berkeley based, Sky Vegetables is the brainchild of Keith Agoada, 22, who developed his business school project to grow vegetables hydroponically on grocery store rooftops into a viable business plan after taking home the top prize of $10,000 last April at the University of Wisconsin School of business G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition.

"While Sky Vegetables' business model is for the rooftops of supermarkets, since that's what our current research supports, there's no reason why the Sky Vegetables urban garden concept couldn't  work successfully on the rooftop of any structure and grow to include other markets," said Aoada.  "Any business that is interested in serving or selling the finest, freshest locally grown produce is a natural fit."  The company is currently launching a pilot program in the Bay Area and is hoping to have its first unit in operation by autumn of this year.

Last December, Sky Vegetables hosted a summit of worldwide industry leading specialists in at the Building-Integrated Sustainable Agriculture (B-ISA) Summit.  There, experts from the fields of architecture, structural engineering, controlled-environment greenhouses, composting, alternative energy, hydroponics, sustainable farming, water economics, and urban agriculture met to share ideas and information. 

One of the summit's keynote speakers was Will Allen, an urban farmer who is working to cultivate, produce, and deliver healthy foods to underserved urban populations through his non-profit organization, Growing Power.  The organization provides hands-on training, outreach, and technical assistance through the development of community food systems that help people grow, process, and market food in a sustainable manner.  Growing Power has multiple farms in Wisconsin and Illinois in both urban and rural settings.

The folks at Sky Vegtables may want to take a look at Eli Zabar's Vinegar Factory on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  Penultimate foodie and scion of the of the famous Zabar family whose markets have been catering to New Yorkers for 75 years, Zabar began building greenhouses on the top of his two- and three-story brick buildings.  The greenhouses, which cover nearly half an acre in area, produce greens, tomatoes, berries, and figs that Zabar sells in his market downstairs. 

And over in Yonkers, the Science Barge, a sustainable urban farm on a 135-foor-long barge in Yonkers, New York and powered by sun, wind, and a biodiesel generator is a fully functioning demonstration of renewable energy supporting food production.  The Science Barge grows tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce without any carbon emissions, chemical pesticides, or runoff.

These projects are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vertical farming, the next wave of sustainable urban farming.  The concept is simple: rather than using rooftop gardens or neighborhood plots of land, why not construct entire high-rise buildings devoted to growing food, from fruits and veggies to fish.  Vertical farming could reduce carbon emissions from food transport and use biofuels or generate methane from compost.

Other good stuff to check out on Celsias:
Growing Power Through Urban Farms
6 Steps to a Greener Diet

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