Up Top Acres: Reimagining farms by growing food on roofs

Converting underutilized urban roofs into productive farmland and protective environmental spaces.

The Problem

The typical American meal contains food that was produced by five different countries and has traveled 1,500 miles. Transporting all this food (by water, rail, truck, and air) produces large volumes of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. This is especially true of cities, where 80 percent of the US population lives and almost all food is imported.

The Solution

Up Top Acres is a for profit organization that works to transform underutilized rooftops into thriving farmland. Their vision is to convert concrete cities into living, breathing ecosystems that not only grow food, but help manage stormwater runoff, combat urban heat island effect, reduce energy usage, and provide vibrant interactive green space for local communities. 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities, and we are shipping food 1,500 miles on average to get from farm to table. Up Top Acres measures the distance their produce travels not in miles, but in flights of stairs. They have created distribution systems that allow for nearly 100% of the produce grown on their farms to be sold within the buildings they are on top of.