Floating Farms: The Growing Solution for Urban AmericaTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 545, Segment 3
May 3, 2017 • 16m
Guest: Mary Mattingly, Artist, Founder of Swale Project
New York is nicknamed “The Big Apple,” but good luck finding an apple tree from which to pluck a healthy snack. Forget about picking the apple, just being able to buy fresh produce is a challenge in parts of many big cities across the country, which the USDA refers to as “food deserts,” because there’s easy access to a fast food joint, but not a grocery store. New York artist Mary Mattingly is working with the idea of bringing fresh food to the people. She’s planted a garden and fruit trees on a barge that has just arrived at a pier adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge.