We're working toward year-round strawberry production on city rooftops, grown for and with the communities that live below them.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. is a Phoenix-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We are building a practical model for growing strawberries in solar-powered greenhouses on top of city buildings. Our goal is that families, small producer groups, and local institutions can own a real share of that work and the income it creates. We are starting with one pilot in Maryvale, and we will learn from it, document it, and share it so other communities can do the same.
We're starting with strawberries, grown close to the people who eat them. Later, we plan to test other berries as well.
Rooftops, solar power, and smart sensors turn unused city space into growing space that can handle the desert climate.
Hands-on training leads families and small groups into Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc., keeping the jobs and value of local food in local hands.
Whether you own a building, design systems, fund community projects, or want to grow, there's a place for you.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. strengthens local food systems by growing berries on city buildings and helping communities own the enterprises that grow them.
Most strawberries sold in Phoenix travel a long way to get here. Many neighborhoods have limited access to fresh, locally grown fruit, and few residents have a path into owning any part of the food business.
Extreme summer heat makes open-field strawberry growing in Phoenix difficult for much of the year.
Arizona's water supply is under real pressure. Any new way of growing food here has to use water carefully.
Phoenix has many flat rooftops that collect sun and heat but produce nothing. That space could do more.
We bring together two ideas. Building Integrated Agriculture (BIA) means growing food as part of a building itself, such as on its roof. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) means growing inside a space where temperature, light, humidity, and water are managed.
UAII pairs BIA and CEA with solar power, IoT sensors and automation, and a cooperative business structure. The plan starts with one rooftop strawberry pilot. We will test what works, record what it costs, and turn it into training and tools that families and small producer groups can use. After their learning, families and small producer groups move into Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc., where they can share costs and expertise while keeping ownership.
UAII is more than a greenhouse project. The greenhouse is how we learn. Community ownership is what we're building.
Our values start with the Golden Rule, a widely shared ethic: treat others the way you want to be treated. We apply it to how UAII is run, not just how it's described.
The people who do the work should share in what it earns. That is why our model leads to Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc., which small producers own and govern together, with a voice for every member.
We will publish what the pilot teaches us, including costs, results, and what doesn't work. As a 501(c)(3), our finances are open to public review, and we intend to report plainly to the community and to supporters.
Neighbors, growers, partners, and funders each bring something real. We plan to involve community members in decisions that affect them, and to treat volunteers' and workers' time as valuable.
We set clear goals for the pilot and report progress against them. When plans change, we'll say so and explain why.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. is developing a rooftop strawberry greenhouse in the Maryvale area of Phoenix. It is planned at about 3,000–5,000 sq. ft., powered by solar energy and managed with IoT monitoring. Its purpose is to test a model that others can use, not just to grow fruit.
Strawberries are delicate and lose quality as they travel. Growing them near the people who buy them means fruit can be picked riper and reach buyers sooner.
In a controlled greenhouse, the growing season doesn't have to follow the weather. We want to find out whether steady, year-round strawberry production is practical in Phoenix.
Strawberries are familiar and widely loved, which gives local growers a market to build on.
More and more hospitals, clinics, and community health programs treat access to fresh fruit as part of caring for people. Strawberries grown close to home could help supply those programs, so fresh fruit is easier to reach for the neighbors they serve.
Strawberries are our starting point. What we learn could help us evaluate other berries later.
Phoenix summers are too hot for strawberries in open fields. A greenhouse lets us manage temperature, humidity, light, and water, which shields plants from desert heat. Putting it on a rooftop uses space the city already has, without taking land.
Everything we learn will feed into cost data, operating procedures, and training materials that other communities can use.
The pilot is in the development stage. Nothing has been built yet. Here is what we're working to secure:
A building in or near Maryvale with a suitable rooftop and an owner interested in partnering
Grants and contributions for design, construction, and the first growing cycles
Structural, mechanical, electrical, solar, and controlled-environment growing knowledge
People to help with outreach, research, events, and planning
Not yet. The pilot is in development. We're securing a site, funding, and technical partners before design and construction can begin.
They are popular, fragile in shipping, and well suited to controlled-environment growing. That makes them a strong test of whether local rooftop production can work in Phoenix.
Rooftops are existing space that usually produces nothing. Using them keeps growing close to neighborhoods and shows how buildings can do more.
The pilot is designed to produce knowledge that families, small producer groups, and communities can use to start their own berry production, and then to grow together as members of Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. is planning a step-by-step path. Each stage builds on what the one before it proves. Nothing moves forward until the evidence supports it.
Build and run one rooftop strawberry greenhouse in Maryvale to test methods, costs, and demand.
Turn pilot results into a documented strawberry production model, with cost data, procedures, and training.
Help families and small groups set up and run their own berry operations using that model.
Producers who complete their learning move into the cooperative, where growers share services and keep ownership of their operations.
Link cooperative growers across the region to supply larger buyers consistently.
Share the model so communities in other parts of Arizona and other states can adapt it.
Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc. is where families and small producer groups go after their learning with UAII. A cooperative is a business owned and governed by its members. For small producers, it is a way to gain the advantages of size without giving up ownership.
One small grower working alone has to cover every cost and learn every skill. As members of Arizona United Berries, they are set up to share the services listed here.
Large buyers need steady volume, food safety documentation, and reliable delivery. Few small growers can offer all three alone. Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc. is designed to let them meet those requirements together, while the income and decisions stay with the members and their communities. That's what we mean by community wealth building.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. uses technology for one reason: to make local berry growing practical, affordable, and repeatable for small producers. The tools matter only if they help people grow good fruit and run a sound business.
Phoenix has abundant sunshine, and a rooftop greenhouse sits right under it. The pilot is planned to use solar panels to supply energy for cooling, pumps, lighting, and controls. We will measure how much of the load solar can carry and what that means for operating costs.
Small connected sensors can track temperature, humidity, light, water, and nutrient levels around the clock. Automation can respond to changes faster than a person can, such as adjusting cooling on a hot afternoon. The goal is fewer crop losses and less guesswork. Later, the same monitoring could be shared across members of Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc.
Hydroponic systems feed plants with a measured water-and-nutrient solution, and many designs recirculate it instead of letting it drain away. In a desert city, that matters. The pilot will track water and nutrient use closely to find the most efficient approach.
The pilot is designed to collect real numbers: energy use, water use, yields, labor hours, and costs. That data is how we'll know what works. We intend to share what we learn, including what doesn't work, so others don't have to start from scratch.
We don't add technology for its own sake. Every tool has to earn its place by lowering costs, saving water or energy, improving fruit quality, or making the work easier to learn. If a simpler approach works better, we'll use it.
Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. is still early, which means the people who join now help shape what this becomes. Find the path that fits you.
A flat, sturdy rooftop could host the Maryvale pilot. We're looking for an owner open to exploring a rooftop greenhouse partnership. Your building helps show what Phoenix rooftops can do and becomes part of a visible community project.
Offer a RooftopWe need structural, mechanical, electrical, solar, and controlled-environment growing expertise to design a greenhouse that can handle Phoenix heat. You'll help solve real engineering problems and shape a model meant to be shared widely.
Share Your ExpertiseYour support can move the pilot from plan to rooftop and produce public knowledge about local food production in a desert city. UAII is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 42-2273512), and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. We'll report clearly on how funds are used and what the pilot learns.
Support the PilotHospitals, schools, universities, and retailers can help us understand what local buyers need in volume, quality, and food safety. Talking with us now helps design production around real demand, and gives you an early look at a future local strawberry supply.
Talk With UsIf you're curious about growing berries, joining Arizona United Berries Cooperative, Inc., or building skills for green jobs, we want to hear from you. Your input will shape our training and the cooperative's work, and you'll be first to know as opportunities open up.
Join the Interest ListWe need help with outreach, research, events, writing, design, and planning. Volunteering is a hands-on way to learn about urban agriculture and meet neighbors who care about local food.
VolunteerWhether you have a rooftop, a skill, a question, or an idea, we'd like to hear from you. Tell us a little about yourself, and someone from Urban Ag Innovations Initiatives, Inc. will follow up.
Your message is ready. To make sure it reaches us, copy it and email it to info@urbanaginnovations.org. We'll be in touch soon.