"Local" food production

Kath Williams

LEED Fellow 2011, Principal

Kath Williams + Associates

LEEDuser Premium Member

103 thumbs up

February 17, 2020

Although there is great value in the intent of this credit, it is very challenging in cold climates where the rooftops are ideal spots but the weather doesn't allow for an abundance of produce. Investment in construction, maintenance, and human resources doesn't pencil out to be a balance.

A second challenge is in neighborhoods were the weather is perfect for food production but making sure the produce reaches maturity before it is "harvested" by nearby residents. Vandalism has also proven to be a challenge.

Ideas for solutions?

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Joseph Andracchio

Steven Winter Associates

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Fri, 02/21/2020 - 21:49

We had an urban single family home choose this pilot. While everything is still growing and there have been no problems yet, I could see problems with vandalism. However, I would hope this does not cause a big problem. As it is, an adjacent project (same owner) had been growing fruit trees with no problems. Because this project had yard space (lucky in the city!) the space requirement was not difficult to meet. This IS a cold-climate project. Persimmon trees proved a good choice, as the fruit can stay edible and on the tree well into winter. Other crops included gooseberry bushes, mint, and other much more seasonal crops. I don't think it would be necessary to create a year-round crop. Plenty of people have gardens in cold climates. Larger projects would admittedly have maintenance issues. I could see this being paired with a community garden program where the residents are mostly responsible for upkeep.