Is there anything more quintessentially American in the eyes of the world than baseball and Apple Pie? Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, has made way for a new ‘American Dream’ with a roof top garden bursting with organic produce. Hopefully this will become the real American look.
Fenway Farms in Boston proper will provide organically-grown food for menu items at the EMC Club, operated by Aramark Corp., which oversees the food concessions in the park. Everything from arugula and spinach to organic herbs will be grown for game-goers.
Adding the rooftop garden to a 1912 building took lots of planning according to Jon Mael of the Boston Globe.
The park manager and structural engineers had to figure out if the roof could take the weight of the garden, where to best locate it so that it could take advantage of optimum sunlight, and how to incorporate piping for the watering system.
Two companies were integral to the project. Recover Green Roofs oversaw the garden’s design and construction; Green City Growers took care of the planting and maintenance of the vegetables and herbs. Green City Growers visits the garden twice a week and as there for the first harvest.
Boston’s brutal winter wouldn’t seem to support such a venture, but some plants were shooting out of the soil just a week after the garden opened.
Fenway Park’s executive chef, Ron Abell, will use the seasonal harvest to inform his EMC Club menu choices.
Abell says:
“I want to showcase the radishes, pea shoots, and young lettuces, and we’ll do kale salads and braised collard greens in the spring.”
He adds:
“The less miles [produce] has to travel, the less hands it has to go through, the better.”
This ballpark brings memories of hot dogs and roasted peanuts to many, but the EMC Calublso features upscale cuisine like bouillabaisse and lobster rolls.
“I like to cook as if people are coming for the food and not the game,” says Abell.
The fans of the Red Sox have responded very positively. Local schools have even contacted the park to ask for tours to teach kids sustainability and healthful eating. Now that’s an American past time we can be proud of.