Common Read 2015-2016
The Good Food Revolution by Will Allen
Will Allen left a successful business career and cashed in his retirement fund to purchase a two-acre plot just outside Milwaukee’s largest public housing project. He began providing healthy food to an area of the city that previously housed only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. Allen eventually built one of the country’s most successful urban farms – a food and educational center that now produces enough produce and fish year-round to feed thousands. Allen’s organization, Growing Power, employs young people from the neighbouring housing project and community and shows how local food systems can bring about systemic change within a community.
Building Community
We welcomed Allen’s daughter, Erika, to our campus November 10, 2015. Erika is the National Projects Director in Growing Power’s Chicago office. We hosted a series of events and community engagement initiatives leading up to her visit.