Could rooftop farming be Washington D.C.'s future? A new school lunch bill introduced by D.C. Council woman Mary Cheh would encourage district schools to purchase organic produce grown on farms with "sustainable practices." Eventually, according to the bill, schools would partner with local farms in a "farm-to-school" program so that students could learn first hand about growing sustainable food.
The proposal also recommends that D.C. schools develop their own schoolyard gardens. But what if schools killed two birds with one stone by building a rooftop garden on each school? That way the "farm-to-school" program could be right upstairs from the classroom--an accessible and convenient way for kids to learn about how sustainable food can be grown.
With large, flat and unused roofs, schools are ideal candidates for rooftop farms. School cafeterias ship in frozen and freeze dried food from around the country, feeding children unhealthy food grown on industrial farms. Instead of packing into a bus to take a field trip to a farm, students could walk upstairs to the school roof and take part in the growing process. The best way to affect the future of food is to begin with kids.
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