Australia: Rooftop Farms Are Teaching City Dwellers How to Grow Food at Home

CERES in Melbourne’s East Brunswick: During lockdown, people looked towards local producers and growing their own food to alleviate their fears of food insecurity.

Seeing the potential of these city spaces, coupled with bushfires and COVID-19 limiting access to fresh food, has many people rethinking their food sources.

By Samantha van Egmond
Sydney Morning Herald
April 28, 2021

Excerpt:

An urban farm and community garden, CERES’ harvest supplies its onsite farm-to-table café, organic grocery, and organic food delivery service.

These green spaces not only support sustainable food systems and nourish our capitals, they also feed our innate desire to connect with the natural world and foster an appreciation for fresh, local produce.

In Melbourne’s east, visitors to farm-to-table restaurant Acre Farm & Eatery – set inside a glasshouse on a 2500m² productive rooftop farm above Burwood Brickworks – can enjoy the sensory experience of smelling, touching and tasting ingredients picked mere metres away, or sign up for cooking classes utilising the garden’s seasonal ingredients.

Rubenstein says CERES attracts volunteers who are looking for social connection and engagement – “We are constantly interacting with the community through workshops, education programs and just chatting over the fence” – while others are interested in learning how to grow their own food or becoming farmers themselves.

Read the complete article here.