Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a 511-bed, equity-led academic medical center that delivers a model of healthcare where innovative and equitable care empowers all patients to thrive. A premier academic medical center in Boston, a national leader in clinical care, and the largest essential hospital in New England, BMC’s world-class clinicians provide comprehensive care in more than 70 specialties and subspecialties.

In June 2024, Recover Green Roofs celebrated the opening of Newmarket Farm at Boston Medical Center at 960 Mass. Ave, situated atop a three-story building at the intersection of the South End, Dorchester, and Roxbury neighborhoods in South Boston. Located in Zone 7a, the rooftop farm has raised beds, a pollinator garden, plus an outdoor classroom.

The green roof design process highlights a critical collaboration between BMC, Recover Green Roofs, and Higher Ground Farm. Recover completed the installation in Spring of 2024. Each organization played an instrumental role in bringing the innovative farm to life.

This 7,300 square-foot rooftop farm marks Recover’s second design and installation on BMC’s campus following the initial Boston Medical Center Power Plant Farm. Both sites collectively allow BMC to forge new community partners and enhance access to fresh foods. A portion of each harvest is donated to several South End nonprofits, including Rosie’s Place. The farm adds valuable green space to the Newmarket District, addresses food insecurity, and offers culturally relevant fresh foods to the community.

In early 2022, Mayor Wu established GrowBoston to promote urban agriculture and food production throughout the city. GrowBoston deployed funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to support the rooftop farm at BMC. Shani Fletcher and her team at GrowBoston provided $300,000 to support the expansion and further commented:

“We are so pleased to partner with BMC and Recover Green Roofs to expand green infrastructure and rooftop farming in our city. We believe rooftop farms are a creative and impactful way to address food insecurity in our communities when space is so limited on the ground. We are also excited to see the impact it will make beyond BMC through partnerships with Boston Area Gleaners and other community organizations.” ~ Shani Fletcher

The green space also helps reduce urban heat island effect, promotes biodiversity within the Newmarket District, and incorporates a high-tech irrigation system to minimize water waste while also slowing stormwater runoff. Pete Ellis, Senior Project Manager at Recover Green Roofs, explained:

“The [Boston Medical Center Newmarket Farm] rooftop farm at 960 Mass Ave. is a great example of a multi-functional green roof, carefully designed to maximize benefits to the hospital, community, and environment. Its large growing beds were designed to capture tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater throughout the year, and the custom irrigation system supplements regional rainfall with targeted and hyper-efficient watering.” ~ Pete Ellis

Client goals driving the project were to:

Expand access to fresh foods in the community and add green space to the BMC campus;
Create additional pathways to support critical clinical programs, like the Preventive Food Pantry;
Reduce the BMC hospital’s carbon footprint;
Offer farm education for individuals, community groups, neighbors, and schools;
Reduce stormwater runoff;
Provide ADA access with visibility from offices.

The Boston Medical Center Newmarket Farm installation features a unique green roof media blend developed by Ben Flanner of Brooklyn Grange and Chuck Duprey at Naturcycle. The Newmarket Farm used a locally manufactured version of the innovative blend developed for the Javits Center Expansion Rooftop & Farm, optimized for deep growing crops, long term performance and water management as well as row crop growing. The growing media depth ranges from 19″-23″. The soil blend sits atop a lightweight granular drainage media, recycled foamed glass, by AeroAggregates which replaces typical plastic drainage components.

Recover Green Roofs, based in Somerville, MA, will manage system maintenance, including irrigation and hardscapes. The high-tech irrigation system is by Recover Green Roofs with components by Conservation Technology. Large growing beds with a granular drainage base retain tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater throughout the year, reducing the need for irrigation. The custom drip irrigation system supplements regional rainfall with targeted and hyper-efficient watering.

The new location has wheelchair accessible green space and uses large garden beds suitable for row cropping, and is enjoyed by employees and community members. Produce is used for hospital programs and shared with community nonprofits.

“The [Boston Medical Center Newmarket] farm’s concrete raised beds form long, uninterrupted rows of crops with accessible walkways between them. The walkways are seeded with micro-clover, a nitrogen-fixing legume, to help boost the soil fertility and structure of the farm.

The farms also focus on cultivating hard-to-find produce that racially diverse communities will recognize and value. The farm grows peppers like aji dulce, which is popular in Caribbean countries and Latin America and Malabar spinach, a nutrient-dense, vining green found in many Indian, African, and Asian cuisines. Callaloo greens, tulsi basil, bok choy, napa cabbage, cranberry beans, and Japanese turnips are other hard-to-find ingredients that are culturally relevant to the communities of South Boston.  ” ~ HealthCity

A variety of additional vegetables and herbs are planted here along with a peach tree from Northeast Nursery and Meadow Seed Mix from Omni Ecosystems. Because of the location on the Boston Medical Center Newmarket Farm roof overlooking the Boston skyline, it also optimizes sun-loving fruit, including tomatoes, and flowers that attract pollinators.

“The space allows more flexible growing techniques, such as improved trellising systems for vining crops, and it is equipped on site with a fully outfitted produce washing station, which allows the team to clean, refrigerate, and distribute crops directly after harvest. Not only does this reduce food waste and gas mileage, it also ensures that crops’ nutrients are preserved for community members to enjoy.” ~ Boston Medical Center

Both BMC rooftop farms and the educational operations are managed by Sarah Hastings, BMC’s Rooftop Farmer, and John Stoddard’s Higher Ground Farms. Stoddard says, “We are so honored to be a part of the great work Boston Medical Center does to address community health. Our partnership with Recover began over 10 years ago when we opened our first rooftop farm, and it is wonderful to see how far Boston has come with green infrastructure. Support from Mayor Wu and GrowBoston has been critical and we are excited to see what the future brings.”

“GrowBoston, the City of Boston’s Office of Urban Agriculture; Stop & Shop; and Citizens provided essential support that made BMC’s second rooftop farm possible. Support from our government and philanthropic partners is critical for programs like these that fall outside of traditional medicine and insurance reimbursements.” ~ said Bob Biggio, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability & Real Estate Officer at BMCHS

Providing culturally relevant foods to a diverse community in need, both the Boston Medical Center’s original Power Plant Farm and the new Newmarket Farm offer resilient food sources for local pantries, cafeterias, kitchens, and in-patient facilities. And, both BMC rooftop farms serve as a model for other hospitals.

BMC’s Newmarket Farm also includes a covered seating area where education and outreach classes are held with hopes to expand the health system’s learning opportunities and better provide for the community. Students from Boston Public Schools, members of local community organizations, as well as staff and patients from hospital departments, learn about the environmental benefits of rooftop farming and get hands-on training on vegetable gardening.

“Kids can harvest, prepare their meals, and eat it right here on the farm. So it’s really hyperlocal, directly from ground to mouth. It’s so beneficial for people to see this green space in the city, let alone watch how your food is grown.” ~ Olivia Grieco, Farm Education and Community Outreach Coordinator (Boston.com)

Boston Medical Center Health System states they deeply understand that the local environment is intrinsic to supporting the overall health and wellbeing in our communities. “BMCHS’s environmental stewardship is helping to dismantle structural barriers, so our communities can access environmental benefits that have often been unavailable to historically disinvested areas.”