PECO presented $10,000 to The Enterprise Center CDC to support the development of the Walnut Hill Community Farm. The grant was awarded yesterday through PECO’s Green Region Open Space Program. Green Region grants, administered by PECO in partnership with the Natural Lands Trust, help municipalities in Southeastern Pennsylvania plan for, protect, and improve open land.

The Community Design Collaborative is working with The Enterprise Center CDC to create a conceptual master plan for the farm, a quarter-acre lot in the shadow of the Market Street El. Read Full Story

Philadelphia has thousands of flat roofs that lay empty soaking up the sun and collecting rain. But imagine if those roofs were transformed into vibrant farms that provided locally grown food to neighborhood residents.

That is the vision a group of neighbors, gardeners, architects, and builders had when they formed Philadelphia Rooftop Farm (PRooF) to explore the possibilities for building organic farms on residential roofs in Philadelphia.

“Rooftop farming is a natural idea once you stand on a roof looking out at all the available space.  The volume of produce you could grow is exciting,” said Jay Sand, one of the founders of PRooF.

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Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative is gaining national prominence for funding fresh food retail projects in under-served communities and raising the vitality of the both communities and their residents in the process. Top Obama officials visited the bustling new ShopRite in West Parkside yesterday to see the impact of FFFI firsthand.

ShopRite’s attention to the nuances of customer service and preferences shows that supermarkets are not all the same. Revisit Infill Philadelphia: Food Access for even more ideas on how to break the mold and bring fresh food back to urban communities.

Last week, Michelle Obama’s new kitchen garden sparked lots of commentary  about fresh produce and the growing sustainable food movement. In Fresh Food for Urban Deserts, the New York Times suggested that Obama take her cause a step further and become an advocate for bringing fresh groceries to the nation’s poorest neighborhoods. The editorial describes the plight of residents in urban “food deserts” and praises Pennsylvania’s Fresh Food Financing Initiative.