5 Lessons About Ground-Level Intelligence From A Rooftop Farm

I recently came across a LinkedIn post from a company I first learned about years ago in a completely different context. Back then, I was looking for alumni to support my son’s rowing team, and someone directed me to a former teammate who’d launched a rooftop farming business in Washington, DC, in 2014.

The more I learned about Up Top Acres, the more I found it to be both unexpected and deeply practical, a mix of creativity and common sense. I’ve continued to follow its work, so when I spotted a social post of each farm taking stock of its season — what worked, what didn’t, and what mattered — it resonated. It made me think about the parallels for credit unions, especially at the branch level where purpose and community are entrenched in everyday operations.

As I sat with that post, a few themes rose to the surface, ideas that feel just as relevant for a credit union branch as they do a rooftop farm.

Up Top Acres applies elevated thinking to its end-of-season summary, providing not just numbers but also stories and areas of impact to highlight the value of its gardens.

Up Top Acres applies elevated thinking to its end-of-season summary, providing not just numbers but also stories and areas of impact to highlight the value of its gardens.

Up Top Acres applies elevated thinking to its end-of-season summary, providing not just numbers but also stories and areas of impact to highlight the value of its gardens.

1. Local ownership is the foundation of real impact.

Up Top Acres asked each of its rooftop farmers to speak in their own voice. The result was a hyper-local, authentic look at the results and impact of each individual location.

For credit union executives, the takeaway isn’t to push branches to do more; it’s to create intentional space for them to articulate what they see happening in their neighborhood. Branch teams are closest to the members and can surface insights that no centralized report will catch. Encouraging them to share those observations can help leadership understand the real conditions shaping member behavior.

2. Purpose-driven framing makes growth meaningful.

The farmers didn’t just report on yield, they explained why it mattered to the people they served.

Credit union branches already drive growth. They already build relationships. But when managers frame their work in purpose-driven terms — who they helped, what changed, why a particular effort mattered — it strengthens internal alignment. It gives teams a clearer sense of impact, and it gives leaders the language to talk about growth that means something beyond numbers.

3. Branch-level observation IS strategic intelligence.

Farmers notice early shifts long before the data confirms a trend. Branch managers do, too. They sense layoffs coming, hear budgeting worries rising, or see a spike in first-time homebuyer questions.

For senior leaders, the question becomes: How do we capture and elevate that quiet expertise?

Elaborate forms or extra processes aren’t necessary. In fact, tapping that expertise can be as simple as asking managers to share one emerging theme each month. Those real-time, ground-level signals can sharpen strategic decisions and reveal opportunities before they’re visible in the numbers.

4. Community engagement deserves to be surfaced.

One piece of the rooftop farm reflections that stood out was the community moments such as workshops, shared meals, collaborative projects, and more. These weren’t side notes; they were central to the story.

Branches already create moments like this: financial wellness conversations that go beyond the form, local partnerships that build trust, small events that draw in people for reasons other than transactions. Encouraging managers to name these moments brings their impact to light for the rest of the organization and serves as an inspiration for others to find meaning in their daily work. It reinforces the credit union’s role as a community anchor and strengthens the narrative executives can share with boards, regulators, and members.

5. Reflection is a growth engine, not a status update.

Up Top Acres didn’t ask each location to simply showcase success stories, it encouraged each site to highlight what they wanted to do differently next season. It was practical, honest, and forward-looking.

This is an area in which credit union executives can make a major difference. When leaders model a culture that values learning as much as outcomes, branch managers feel more comfortable sharing insights as well as results. Asking for a short reflection every quarter — “What worked? What didn’t? What surprised you?” — turns surface-level reporting into strategic storytelling. It seeds improvement without adding pressure.

Senior leaders often carry the responsibility of translating the credit union’s mission into operational priorities. But branches live that mission. Up Top Acres reminds that when leaders encourage front-line teams to articulate their local impact — in their own voice, with their own examples — it strengthens the whole credit union. It connects strategy to lived experience, numbers to meaning, and purpose to the valued employees who walk through the doors every day.