Berlin REWE opens Germany's largest rooftop farm above supermarket
The Lankwitz store grows lettuce hydroponically using waste heat and rainwater, cutting transport emissions and connecting shoppers to local production.
What to know
- REWE's Lankwitz supermarket now grows lettuce on its 2,760-square-metre rooftop—Germany's largest rooftop farm—and sells it directly in the store.
- The greenhouse eliminates transport trucks by growing and packaging produce on-site, using waste heat, rainwater, and solar power for a year-round operation.
- The model reduces greenhouse gas emissions, uses dead urban space productively, and shortens the supply chain from three weeks of growth to sale downstairs.
- An academic expert sees it as a step forward for bridging producer-consumer disconnection in cities, though cautions against replacing community gardens.
This is an innovative and welcome model for reducing food transport emissions and connecting urban consumers to local production.
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“Total German W. Glad to see stuff like this.”
simplyxtata · Mastodon ↗
“one customer travelled more than 50km just to get their hands on a bag”
Felix Thomas, Store manager · Guardian ↗
Nicolas Leschke ECF CEO and founderFelix Thomas Store manager, Lankwitz REWEPrajal Pradhan Associate professor, University of GroningenREWE Supermarket operatorECF (Ecological Cycles Farming) Berlin-based agricultural technology company
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Academic expert calls rooftop farm a step forward for urban agriculture — Prajal Pradhan, an associate professor at the University of Groningen who recently published a study on urban agriculture in Europe, endorses the model as addressing the disconnection between producers and consumers, though he cautions it should not replace personal or community rooftop gardens.
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Guardian reports Lankwitz farm is Germany's largest rooftop operation
At 2,760 square metres, the Lankwitz REWE rooftop farm surpasses Germany's previous rooftop agricultural installations. The greenhouse uses hydroponic technology, waste heat from cooling systems, rainwater, and solar power to operate year-round.
“We don't even have an extra truck on the road that usually is necessary to transport the goods from the producer to the central distribution.”
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‘Fresh from the roof’: the Berlin supermarket that is growing salad a few metres above the tills www.theguardian.com/environment/... via @theguardian.com
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Total German W. Glad to see stuff like this. ‘Fresh from the roof’: the supermarket growing salad a few metres above the tills | Germany | The Guardian https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/11/supermarket-salad-rooftop-garden-berlin
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My local supermarket has made it into @ guardian 🥳 https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/11/supermarket-salad-rooftop-garden-berlin?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Lankwitz loose-leaf lettuce joins supermarket shelves — A new lettuce option branded 'Frisch Vom REWE Dach' (Fresh from the REWE roof) became available at the Felix Thomas REWE supermarket in Lankwitz, Berlin, grown on the rooftop above the store.
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REWE and ECF open first rooftop farm in Wiesbaden — REWE and Berlin-based agricultural technology company ECF opened their first green farming market on top of a store in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, selling basil.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Guardian Business, 13d ago · also Guardian Environment
What people are saying 2 voices from 2 sites · best of 5 · verbatim
- Sep 12
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A Berlin supermarket is growing lettuce on its rooftop using hydroponics, rainwater, solar energy and waste heat Research involving @prajdhan.bsky.social highlights the wider potential of urban agriculture across European cities. @theguardian.com
- Sep 11
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More of this please... https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/11/supermarket-salad-rooftop-garden-berlin # food # rooftopGardens