A non-profit based in Wisconsin is putting a new, organic, sustainable twist on that old proverb on self-sufficiency, ‘give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.’ Growing Power is a national non-profit organization and land trust focused on providing access to healthy foods in low-income, urban communities. Through hands-on training, demonstrations, outreach and technical assistance, Growing Power is helping to create a network of Community Food Systems, that help people “grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.” Its pilot program, started in Milwaukee, occupies an historic two acre farm, the last remaining farm within the city limits. In a space no larger than a modern supermarket, the farm includes 20,000 plants and vegetables, 6 greenhouses, 2 fish funs (with Talapia and Perch), an apiary (with 8 beehives) and a colorful inventory of livestock (including chickens, goats, ducks and rabbits). The farm also includes a sophisticated composting system, as well as an anerobic digester, producing energy from the farm’s waste. The goal is to engage members of the community, students, universities, activists and farmers in a diaolgue that makes access to healthy, local foods easier and to promote the development of similar community food centers in other cities. Will Allen, the organization’s founder, was recently awarded $500,000 by the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, in recognition of Growing Power being “at the edge of a new synthesis.”

For more info, visit www.growingpower.org