Israeli shopping mall grows fresh food for shoppers
There is a vegetable stand just inside the door, built of wood and packed with bags of fresh, wet leafy greens and herbs. It is an anomaly in the midst of the fast-fashion outlets and food courts, better suited for a traditional farmers’ market, but this humble little vegetable stand has become a great success. It relies on the honor system, trusting shoppers to leave the correct change and take what they want.
The vegetables sell out so quickly that the stand has to be restocked four times daily. The best part about these vegetables however is that they are grown on the very roof of the shopping center itself. The roof is part of a project called ‘Green in the City,'. The goal of which is to increase rooftop farming using hydroponics in the city.
The urban rooftop farm has been established over the past year. It comprises two commercial greenhouses, totaling 750 square meters (over 8,000 square feet) of growing space, as well as an educational area where citizens can learn urban farming techniques and cooking skills relevant to the vegetables they grow. The organization sells hydroponics units for home use and teaches people how to use them.
The rooftop farm produces 10,000 heads of lettuce per month year-round, and grows 17 different varieties of greens and herbs; there is even a banana tree. The mixture of modern commercialism in the shopping center and the rural nature of farming make for a charm that delights visitors to the shopping center from all around.
source: treehugger.com
