Milwaukee urban farmer Will Allen will speak at Waupaca Middle School
By Maggie Jones

Will Allen will present “Growing Power and the Good Food Revolution” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 29, at Waupaca Middle School.

The program is hosted by Winchester Academy of Waupaca, in cooperation with Wisconsin Public Radio.

Allen is a Milwaukee-based urban farmer who is transforming the cultivation, production and delivery of healthy foods to underserved urban populations.

As the son of a sharecropper, former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader, he is recognized as a national leader in urban agriculture and food policy.

Using his retirement package to purchase a plot of inner-city land with greenhouses, he established and functions as the CEO of the country’s preeminent urban farm and non-profit organization, Growing Power.

Growing Power has grown since its inception in 1993, to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food. Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.

Allen will tell the story of his personal journey, how Growing Power came to be, and a grassroots movement that is transforming lives.

In 2010, Time magazine named Will Allen one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People, and he was invited to the White House to join Michelle Obama in launching “Let’s Move!” – her signature program to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in America.

In 2012 he received the NEA Security Benefit Corporation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education for his work with children, teachers, and schools.

The program is free and open to the public. Cookies and coffee are served at 6 p.m. and the program begins promptly at 6:30 p.m.

Winchester Academy program expenses are funded through sponsors and tax-deductible donations. Will Allen’s program is sponsored by Revs. Mary and Jim Trainor.

For more information, visit winchesteracademywaupaca.org, follow Winchester Academy on Facebook, or contact Executive Director Ann Buerger Linden at 715-258-2927 or [email protected]