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Will Allen (urban farmer)

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Will Allen
Allen at the 2010 Time 100 Gala.
Born
William Edward Allen

(1949-02-08) February 8, 1949 (age 75)
EducationB.A. Physical Education (1971)[1][2]
Alma materUniversity of Miami
OccupationChief Executive Officer
EmployerGrowing Power
Known forUrban farming, Professional basketball
Height6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[3]
SpouseCynthia
ChildrenEricka
Awards2008 MacArthur Fellowship, Genius Award
Websitehttp://www.growingpower.org/

William Edward Allen (born February 8, 1949) is an urban farmer based in Milwaukee and a retired American basketball player. He grew up on a farm in Rockville, Maryland with his parents and siblings, but while on the farm, he made a makeshift basketball court and taught himself to play. When he played for the middle school team, he was a huge and powerful kid and proved to be unstoppable.[4]

When he entered high school, he was 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and 230 pounds, and he dominated as he could dunk since he was in middle school. His sophomore year he nominated to the All-Metropolitan team, and the following year, he brought his team to the finals and they won. In his senior season, he helped bring them back to the finals, but they would lose in the championship game. This season would give him a selection to the All-Pro team and a scholarship to the University of Miami. He was integral in keeping the 1970-1971 basketball season alive. The Board of Trustees tried to shut down the program in the 1969-1970 season. With Allen rallying his teammates on a strike and press conference, and the fact that his teammates and him did not have enough notice to transfer schools, the Board agreed to keep it open for another season.[5]

He was drafted in the fourth round (60th pick overall) in the 1971 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. He would never play an NBA game, but would go on the ABA's Miami Floridians and then for Belgium in the European Professional League. While in Belgium, he cultivated an old passion: farming. He would retire from basketball at the age of 28. He moved back to the United States and found work at Marcus Corporation and eventually Procter & Gamble. When he quit P&G, he received a severance package, and with it bought a tractor and 100 acres (0.40 km2), to raise his three kids with his wife.[6]

He started with the 100 acres (0.40 km2), and nine years later he bought a 2-acre (8,100 m2) lot on the north side of Milwaukee that was a derelict plant nursery that was in foreclosure.[7][8] In 1995, a YMCA group asked him to how to make a small organic garden profitable, and from that, Farm City Link was formed. After ideas suggested by Heifer Project International to help expand, and a couple years of little profitability, Hope Finkelstein offered to merge her Growing Power with Farm City Links, as they both had the same goals. He accepted and became co-director. This merger would bring much success to them, as they won both Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant".[9] Growing Power also has a branch in Chicago, run by Allen's daughter Erika. He is still currently director of Growing Power.[10][11]

Early life (1949–1967)

William Edward Allen was born on February 8, 1949 to Willie Mae and O.W. Allen. His mother worked as a housekeeper and his father was a former sharecropper. He was the second youngest to seven siblings, and grew up in Rockville, Maryland. The family purchased the farm after moving from South Carolina.[12]

When Allen was 13, he started playing basketball. "I could run like a deer, and I was really strong" recalled Allen, after years of working on a farm gave him those characteristics. He went as far to make a make-shift court at home by first flattening the ground and hanging a bushel basket on an oak tree. He even attached a flashlight so that he could play in the evening.[4]

He attended Julius West Junior High and became the star of the eighth grade team, and could even dunk at his age. When he entered Richard Montgomery High School, he was 6 ft (1.8 m), 7 in and 230 pounds.[4] While he was a sophomore, the Washington Post selected him for the All-Metropolitan team. In 1966, his junior year, he led his team to win the state championship. In his senior season, he again led them to the finals, but they lost. He was, however, selected to the All-American team and received a scholarship to play at the University of Miami.[5]

College Basketball career (1967–1971)

After he was a high school state champion in basketball, playing the forward position,[1][13] Allen played collegiately for the Miami Hurricanes at the University of Miami, where he was on basketball scholarship.[14] He was the first African-American to play basketball for the University of Miami.[1]. While at college in the '60s and segregation, Allen received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan.[15]

While in his junior season, the Board of Trustees suddenly announced that it would cancel the basketball program at the end of the year, which was bad for the players as it was not enough time to transfer to another school. Allen organized his teammates to form a player strike and hold a press conference. The national press caught on, which forced the board to extend the program one more year. He graduated with a degree in physical education in 1971[15]

Professional Basketball(1971-1977)

After college Allen was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the 4th round (60th pick overall) of the 1971 NBA Draft. He never played in the NBA, but appeared in seven games with The Floridians of the ABA during the 1971–72 season.[16] He also played professionally in Belgium.[7]

While in Belgium, he made friends with local farmers, which was nostalgic of his early childhood. "They farmed a lot like we used to. It must have released a hidden passion in me, because before I left Belgium, I had a garden and some chickens of my own."[17]

Allen retired from basketball in 1977, when he was 28.[7] Upon retirement, Allen moved to Milwaukee, his wife Cynthia's hometown.[1] At this time, they had three children under the age of eight, Erika, Jason, and Adriana.[18]

After Basketball (1978–1982)

Allen took on some jobs to help support his growing family. He was an executive at Marcus Corporation, and then a technology salesman at Procter & Gamble. He would recall of the daily grind, "I needed the farm--it's so real and so satisfying. Mostly, I wanted that life for my kids."[18]

1982 saw Allen quit at Procter & Gamble and return to his childhood roots. "I remember when I left for Coral Gables, telling my father, 'I will never work on a farm again'. I guess you should never say never." He received a severance package from P&G, he bought a junkyard tractor and 100 acres (0.40 km2) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which was previously owned by his wife's parents.[1][19]

Urban farming (after 1982)

Will Allen’s parents were sharecroppers in South Carolina until they bought the small vegetable farm in Rockville, Maryland, where Allen grew up.[10][20] After owning the farmland , nine years later he was ready to expand his operation. There was a 2-acre (8,100 m2) plot located on the north side of Milwaukee that was a derelict plant nursery that was in foreclosure.[7][8] In what once was called Greenhouse Alley, he made a greenhouse of his own, and it was the last remaining farmland in the city and was in the middle of a low-income neighborhood. Will's Roadside Stand became a popular for its organic output, and at this time he established the Rainbow Grower's Cooperative, which connected family farmers outside Milwaukee to the city.[8]

In 1995, a nearby YMCA group came to Allen on how to make a small organic garden profitable. He had a half-acre of unused land behind the greenhouse that he offered. Soon enough, the kids got to work and crops began to grow, and it also gave Allen a chance to mentor. "I talked to them about how the garden was teaching basic life skills: how to get up in the morning, how to be responsible for growing something."[21] With his help, Farm City Link was formed.[21]

Then in 1996, he was approached by Heifer Project International and was given some ideas on how Farm City Link could expand. They told him to set up a tilapia fish farm of 150, putting red worms to enrich the soil of the vegetable beds, and using hydroponics system to help grow plants. Allen was eager about all these ideas and used them right away.[22]

When it first began, it struggled financially. One of the biggest problems was growing a massive amount of crops in a small amount of space. He raised the vegetable beds to make room to raise the chickens, ducks, goats, and farmed fish. Allen was at a crossroad: Should he remain productive or train new farmers. In 1998, his answer came in the form of Hope Finkelstein, an organizer and activist. She had formed Growing Power, and since the two organizations were so similar, she asked that the two merge, with Allen becoming co-director.[23]

Growing Power (1998-)

The name "Growing Power" was ideal, as it matched up with his goal to "grow communities by growing sustainablie food sources." 1999 saw the building once known as "Will's Roadside Stand" turn into Growing Power's Community Food Center, where farmers of all ages and experience come to receive training and assistance in farming practice.[24]

A part of Growing Power is the Growing Power Youth Corps, which is a youth development apprenticeship program. The program gives kids from low-income backgrounds academic and professional experience by learning different farming methods, developing leadership experience, build entrepreneurial skills, and learn to work with a wide range of people.[25]

As Growing Power came to fulfill its name, they selected Chicago as the next city to start another program. They selected Allen's eldest daughter, Erika, to run it. The new branch opened in February 2002 and established more Community Food Centers. He said of his daughter that "People admire Erika's intelligence and grasp. But her commitment and passion are incredible, and that's what it really takes." In this year, Growing Power was producing over 100,000 pounds of chemical-free vegetables and growing rapidly.[25]

Will Allen nets Tilapia at the urban farm Growing Power in 2008.

By 2005, he was in need of funding, and he won the Ford Foundation Leadership for a Changing World Award, which came with an $100,000 grant from them.[25]

In 2008, Allen would receive the genius grant MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant". The award came with a $500,000 grant for "individuals across all ages and fields who show exceptional merit and promise of continued creative work."[25] The award statement said the following about Allen: "Will Allen is an urban farmer who is transforming the cultivation, production, and delivery of healthy foods to underserved, urban populations...Allen is expirementing with new and creative ways to improve the diet and health of the urban poor."[26]

After this, he was interviewed by Good Morning America, CNN, NPR, and the New York Times. He had gone overseas to train people in Africa, Europe, and South America. His staff and had increased to three dozen full time employees, he owned five greenhouses, and produced $500,000 annually from fresh, organic food.[27]

Allen currently serves as director of Growing Power, a now mature urban farming project in Milwaukee, with a 40-acre (160,000 m2) acre farm west of Milwaukee in the town of Merton and an off-shoot project in Chicago run by Allen's daughter, Erika.[10][11]

Awards

In 2005, Allen was awarded a Ford Foundation leadership grant on behalf of his urban farming work.[7][11] In 2008, he was awarded the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" for his work on urban farming and sustainable food production.[11][28] Most recently, in 2009, the Kellogg Foundation gave Allen a grant to create jobs in urban agriculture.[7][29]

Miscellaneous

Will Allen appears in the documentary film, Fresh. The film refers to Allen as "one of the most influential leaders of the food security and urban farming movement."[30]

Personal life

He has six siblings. He met his wife, Cynthia, early in their respective college years, and were married on February 8, 1969. They have three children: Erika, who works for Growing Power, Jason, a lawyer, and Adrianna is a model/actress. "I had my kids when I was very young, so I grew up with them. But we've made that transformation from father/daughter to friends...Now it's more equal."[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e A will and a way for Allen: MacArthur grant aids urban farmer’s quest to bring fresh food to inner city - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  2. ^ 2008 MacArthur Fellows: Will Allen
  3. ^ An Urban Farmer Is Rewarded for His Dream - New York Times
  4. ^ a b c "Biography Today", pp. 10
  5. ^ a b "Biography Today", pp. 10-11
  6. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 11-13
  7. ^ a b c d e f Street Farmer - New York Times
  8. ^ a b c "Biography Today", pp. 13
  9. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 13-17
  10. ^ a b c Growing Power in an Urban Food Desert: Will Allen is bringing farming and fresh foods back into city neighborhoods - YES! Magazine
  11. ^ a b c d Urban farmer’s work honored: Growing Power’s Allen gets MacArthur 'genius grant' - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  12. ^ Biography Today. Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics. 2009. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7808-1052-5.
  13. ^ Growing Power in an Urban Food Desert: Will Allen is bringing farming and fresh foods back into city neighborhoods
  14. ^ Making Fresh Food Affordable - O, The Oprah Magazine
  15. ^ a b "Biography Today", pp. 11
  16. ^ Allen career statistics
  17. ^ "Biography Today", pp.11-12
  18. ^ a b "Biography Today", pp. 12
  19. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 12-13
  20. ^ Milwaukee's Growing Power Founder Pushes Urban Farming
  21. ^ a b "Biography Today", pp. 13-14
  22. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 14
  23. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 14-15
  24. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 15
  25. ^ a b c d "Biography Today", pp. 16
  26. ^ "Biography Today", pp. 16-17
  27. ^ "Biography Today", p.17
  28. ^ 25 Receive $500,000 MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowships - New York Times
  29. ^ Will Allen and Growing Power in the national spotlight again - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  30. ^ "Fresh" celebrates Growing Power on film - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  31. ^ "Biography Today", pp.18

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