Sourcing Local Foods Vertically
Posted: November 9, 2010
Categories: economic development / Local Procurement / News from Sustain Ontario
Who would have thought looking straight from Queen Street Toronto, that a rooftop farm is in full operation at Parts and Labour restaurant!
After climbing up a steep ladder to the rooftop of Parts and Labour restaurant in Toronto, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Katie Mathieu, a self professed Rooftop farmer and her “friends†(a group of organically grown vegetables and herbs lined in beautiful container rows).
Katie’s profession is a great example of the growing employment opportunities in the alternative food sector and the creative ways that restaurants can procure or produce foods locally (within a quick climb up the roof!)
When Katie moved to Toronto after studying permaculture and wilderness survival on the Westcoast, she met with Matty Matheson (Chef) and Victoria Taylor, Co-Owner of “Parts and Labour restaurant†(P& L). Katie and Matty started talking about urban agriculture and planned for a few buckets of herbs and flowers on the rooftop.
Little did she know, her dream would become reality when Victoria supported a larger-scale food growing operation from the original vision. A few months later, Katie visited several rooftop gardens across Canada to understand best practices with respect to growing techniques and production. The rooftop farming operation at Parts and Labour is now in full swing and despite being in the pilot stage, Katie has successfully produced a significant amount of herbs and vegetables for the restaurant’s consumption.
Although rooftop farming is an amazing alternative for tight places or urban centres, not all rooftops are suitable for growing foods. Fortunate for Katie, the rooftop at P&L gets just the right amount of sun to grow healthy plants but is protected from over exposure by the surrounding buildings. Furthermore, the building is structurally sound to accommodate the small-scale operation.
According to a report conducted by the City of Toronto, there are approximately 135 built green roofs in the City of Toronto. This area encompasses 119,775 ft 2 of green roof areas on public and privately owned buildings. There is a lot of potential for growing food locally right in the city core. The increasing ability of urban Ontarians to consume local sustainable foods in areas that lack land access may be maximized with the right amount of political support and more research on innovative green roof growing methods.
In addition, rooftop farming may just be the profession to watch this coming year as Toronto became the first city in North America in May of 2009 to have a green roof bylaw requiring and governing the construction of green roofs on new developments.