Harvesting the rooftop garden at Nationals Park

The Nationals partnered with Building Bridges Across the River, Cultivate the City, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to make this garden possible.  

The Vice President of Strategic Partnerships with the Nationals, Missy Jenkins, described the garden by saying, “We have a 6000-square foot giving garden here right above some concession stands at Nationals Park. Not a lot of people know that it exists here, but it's an opportunity for us as the Nationals to give back to the community. All of the produce we harvest here goes to Building Bridges Across the River.” 

Kyle Call, an outfielder for the Nats, saw the garden for the first time on harvest day.

“Access to this kind of fresh produce, that's really important. So, it's great to be a part of that,” said Call. 

The rooftop garden couldn’t have happened without Cultivate the City Founder, Niraj Ray. Ray is a huge advocate for urban agriculture and vertical farming. He started the garden back in 2015, and has helped it grow into what it is today. 

“I would say this is the crown jewel of all of our gardens. I mean it's just exemplary and creative space making for gardens, taking underutilized spaces in the city,” said Ray.  

The nonprofit Building Bridges Across the River helps harvest and distribute fresh produce to Wards 7 and 8. 

This is one way the community is working together to fill the grocery store gap. 

In fact, there is only one full service grocery store that serves 75,000 people in Ward 8. Scott Kratz, vice president for Building Bridges Across the River said, “It's a huge food justice issue. So this idea of growing food right here on the at Nats Park where we harvest the food and we distribute it at low cost or no cost to east of the river residents every Saturday from the spring summer and fall.” 

The garden gives residents access to high-quality produce they might not otherwise have.

 Kim Harris with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield spoke about why it’s important for a healthcare company to be involved in a project like this. 

“You know that saying they say you are what you eat? You actually are what you have access to. And so our goal is not only to provide access to high-quality affordable care but the same is true for high-quality food.” said Harris. 

Utilizing rooftop space to help build a healthier community sure is a home run!