Growing Power

Providing Healthy Food in a Food Desert 

A food desert.  Those words profoundly struck me during my orientation with Growing Power.  What is a food desert?  It's an area where there are few grocery stores but where fast food restaurants and convenience stores filled with unhealthy food choices abound.  Growing Power is working to change that by being the green oasis in the middle of Milwaukee's north side food desert.  They are working on bring together people - of all backgrounds - to work towards a common goal: provide healthy, high-quality food for its local community.  

(photo by Jimmy Fishbein for TIME)

Will Allen

Founder of Growing Power

Named by TIME magazine as one of 2010's 100 people who most affect our world.

 

 

 

 

 Growing power is located on 55th & Silver Spring in Milwaukee, WI. It's 2 acres is the only land in the city of Milwaukee that is zoned as farmland.  They have green houses filled with a variety of seasonal produce, along with turkeys, goats, chickens and tilapia which are raised in their aquaponic structures.  Everything is raised in a sustainable fashion and then is sold to people in the community, either directly from their store or at local farmers markets where they often accept food stamps in order to ensure that everyone has access to healthy, nourishing food. Growing Power also sells to local restaurants who strive to support the local food movement.  This conscious act helps to further promote and strengthen Growing Powers mission and in turn it's surrounding community.