Will Allen, son of a sharecropper, former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader, and now farmer, has become recognized as among the preeminent thinkers of our time on agriculture and food policy. The founder and CEO of Growing Power Inc., a farm and community food center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Allen is widely considered the leading authority in the expanding field of urban agriculture. At Growing Power and in community food projects across the nation and around the world, Allen promotes the belief that all people, regardless of their economic circumstances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times. Using methods he has developed over a lifetime, Allen trains community members to become community farmers, assuring them a secure source of good food without regard to political or economic forces.
In 2008, Allen was named a John D. and Katherine T. McArthur Foundation Fellow and was awarded a prestigious foundation “genius grant” for his work – only the second farmer ever to be so honored. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in February 2010, he was invited to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama in launching “Let’s Move!” her signature leadership program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. Will Allen’s work is prominently featured in the new documentary, FRESH, which opens theatrically at the Quad Cinema Friday, April 9th, and is supported by a week of local and sustainable food events around New York City. More information about Will Allen and Growing Power can be found at: http://www.growingpower.org.
Will Allen appears in the following:
Will Allen's Good Food Revolution
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Will Allen discusses cashing in his retirement fund to buy a two-acre plot near Milwaukee’s largest public housing project to build the country’s preeminent urban farm—a food and educational center that now produces enough vegetables and fish year-round to feed thousands of people. In The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities he describes founding Growing Power to prove that local food systems can help troubled youths, dismantle racism, create jobs, bring urban and rural communities closer together, and improve public health.
The Greene Space
Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn
Thursday, April 8, 2010
7:00 PM
Hear author/radical gardener, Fritz Haeg; urban farmer & founder of Growing Power Will Allen; Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer; and Eagle Street Rooftop Farms founder Annie Novak tell real-life stories about how urban gardens and farms are transforming the way we live.
So FRESH
Friday, April 02, 2010
Get Tickets to FRESH Week Events, including two ...
Urban Farming and the Future of American Food
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Can First Lady Michelle Obama help America become a cultural haven for healthy food lovers? The first lady announced her fight against childhood obesity at the White House yesterday. Will Allen, urban farmer and CEO of Milwaukee based Growing Power believes that urban farms can help in the effort to create a healthier nation.