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As the Pandemic Continues, Urban Gardening Is Growing on New Yorkers

Samuel’s Food Gardens (Photo courtesy of Samuel S. T. Pressman)

That has led to a spike in produce sales at the three green roofs operated by Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm, and an increased demand for their services designing, installing and maintaining private green spaces.

By Mili Godio
Bedford Bowery
July 27, 2020

Excerpt:

Samuel S. T. Pressman had wanted to build a food garden on the rooftop of his Clinton Hill apartment for years. The artist and sculptor had lived on a farm when he was younger and had studied Sustainable Environmental Systems at Pratt. But in a city with a “time is money” mentality, he never found the right moment to start his passion project.

That changed when New York underwent a statewide Pause order in mid-March. Now, Samuel’s Food Gardens is tackling the city’s food insecurity problem by providing fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs to community gardens that advocate for food security. “I wanted to explore what most people’s living situation is here,” Pressman said, “where they don’t have any land and have hardly any outdoor space that they own, and how they can still be able to grow some food using a system that is designed to actually make it possible to grow more food than you think per square foot.”

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns over the food supply chain began increasing nationwide as popular food items flew off the shelves and grocery store lines grew to alarming lengths. This panic, along with a sudden abundance of time and collective distress over going to crowded supermarkets, contributed to a surge in backyard gardens and private farming initiatives. Even as the apocalyptic anxiety began to settle down, the gardening craze didn’t seem to stop. With at least 10 million more people unemployed in the United States compared to pre-Covid figures, feeding families continues to be at the top of everyone’s priority list.

Read the complete article here.