Selected Kaufland Romania shops to turn roofs, parking lots in urban gardens

Kaufland Romania will turn its roofs, parking lots and the outer walls of in urban gardens, the food retailer announced. The vegetables, fruit, flowers will be used by the community.

The project, “Gradinescu,” developed through a partnership with the Association of the research Institute for Permaculture in Romania, is a first in Romania and promotes care towards nature, community spirit and supports the development of urban agriculture, company representatives say.

Moreover, the project is designed to introduce children and adults to gardening and the possibility to have a healthy diet even in an urban environment. “The project consists of a network of nine urban community gardens, three of them located on the roofs of three Kaufland shops, four in the parking lots or behind the shops and two in schools” company representatives said.

The first Kaufland store with the roof and outer walls transformed in urban gardens is that on Bucurestii Noi Blvd., and by the end of summer those on Barbu Vacarescu, Tudor Vladimirescu, Aparatorii Patriei, and in schools.

The first urban garden set up as part of the Kaufland store in Bucurestii Noi has 2,300 square meters and is designed to be used by the community. The garden will serve as a teaching space for schools and gardens in the area.

The company presented the results of the first study on the presence of urban gardening in Romania. According to the survey, 7 out of 10 Romanians are involved in urban gardening, by cultivating at their home vegetables, greens or fruit, in order to enjoy natural produce. While the balcony is the preferred spot for urban gardening for almost 50 percent of Romanians, 14 grow their produce in front of their block of flats, 8 percent in the suburbs and the rest headed for areas outside of the cities.