Growing A Sustainable Urban Movement

The New York Times Magazine profiles Will Allen, the urban farmer from Wisconsin who recently received the MacArthur Foundation's "genius" grant for his work in agriculture.

1 minute read

July 6, 2009, 8:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg

As organic food and local agriculture become mainstream ideals, urban farmer Will Allen's Wisconsin farm is at the head of the class.

"When you're producing a quarter of a million dollars' worth of food in such a small space, soil fertility is everything. Without microbe- and nutrient-rich worm castings (poop, that is), Allen's Growing Power farm couldn't provide healthful food to 10,000 urbanites - through his on-farm retail store, in schools and restaurants, at farmers' markets and in low-cost market baskets delivered to neighborhood pickup points. He couldn't employ scores of people, some from the nearby housing project; continually train farmers in intensive polyculture; or convert millions of pounds of food waste into a version of black gold."

FULL STORY: Street Farmer

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in The New York Times

Community / Economic Development Environment Wisconsin Agriculture Urban Farming

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