US: Rooftop greenhouses sprout in big cities
Puri is the co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, a company that grows basil, bok choy, arugula, kale and other leafy greens in its rooftop greenhouses in New York City and Chicago.
"I came from an environmental engineering background, not a farming or food background," Puri told NBC.
He realized his Gotham Greens concept was a viable idea after working in a greenhouse. Winning the New York City Green Business Competition in 2011 cemented his vision. Growing food in greenhouses on rooftops was not only feasible on a commercial scale, it was also an adaptive use of urban space that’s environmentally friendly, he explained.
His greenhouse in Chicago's South Side, which sits atop a soap factory and measures 75,000 square feet, churns out nearly 25 crops of leafy greens per year, Puri said in an interview with The Associated Press. In comparison, a conventional farm in the region produces two to four crops, he said.
In New York, Gotham Greens operates three greenhouses, including one that sits atop Whole Foods in Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood. The store's spokesperson Michael Sinatra said the partnership has been a “winning relationship” since both companies focus on reducing the carbon monoxide foot print in food deliveries and turning “food miles into food steps.”
Puri said his company is the only one successfully using the rooftop greenhouse model on a commercial scale. But, he said, “it’s becoming more popular and you are seeing more urban farming start up concepts overall.”
Read more at NBC New York