Eat Up

From roof to table – urban food has reached new heights.

Soaring prices and concerns about chemical-laden fruits and vegetables increasingly drive us to grow our own healthy food close to home. In cities, however, vanishing ground space and contaminated soils spur farmers, activists, and restaurateurs to look to the skyline for a solution. The hunger for local food has reached new heights, and rooftops can provide the space that cities need to bring fresh, organic produce to tables across North America.

The first full-length book to focus entirely on rooftop agriculture, Eat Up views this growing movement through a practitioner's lens, explaining:

• Structural, access, and infrastructural considerations
• Zoning and building codes
• Proven growing techniques
• Business and marketing strategies

This graphically rich guide provides inspiration and advice to aspiring growers through photographs of successful rooftop farms and gardens and interviews with industry professionals. Easy-to-use checklists and a decision tree are included to help gauge the viability of each unique rooftop opportunity. Essential reading for home gardeners, entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, policy makers, academics, and designers, Eat Up takes urban agriculture to a whole new level, proving that rooftop farming is not just pie in the sky—it is the future of urban food.

Lauren Mandel holds a master's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor of arts degree in environmental science. She is a project manager and rooftop agriculture specialist at Roofmeadow, where she designs green roofs and oversees green roof and rooftop agriculture projects around the country.