Contacts:
Phillip Leeds, 917-957-9943, pleeds@growingpower.org
Adrianna Allen, 917-446-6789, aallen@growingpower.org
MILWAUKEE, Wis., Sept. 19, 2011 — Growing Power today announced a series of concerts and events with some of the biggest names in music and art, who have joined forces in an effort to raise young people’s awareness about issues relating to Urban Agriculture, including nutrition and health, food security, career opportunities, and empowerment.
The Growing Power concert series, Growing Sound, will begin with concerts in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2012. In addition, Growing Power will present “The Concert for Urban Agriculture” in the Fall of 2012, in conjunction with the biannual Growing Power International Urban & Small Farm Conference to be held in Milwaukee, where Growing Power is headquartered.
The mission of Growing Sound is to raise awareness among young people and to help fund Growing Power’s many initiatives including: the Growing Power Regional Outreach Training Centers, which assist communities around the country in building their own sustainable food systems; the Growing Power Youth Corps, which offers youth from low-income families academic and professional experience in Community Food Systems Development; the organization’s training and professional development programs, which are training the new generation of farmers; and the Growing Power Vertical Farm Project – the first vertical farm building of its kind.
Growing Power CEO and Founder Will Allen, said, “Working with youth is central to our organization’s mission.” He continued, “If people can grow safe, healthy, affordable food, if they have access to land and clean water, this is transformative on every level in a community.” Last year, Allen and Growing Power gained particular media attention when he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In addition, Farm Aid chose Growing Power’s home of Milwaukee, WI, for its 25th anniversary concert and Michelle Obama handpicked Allen to be one of four Americans to join her as she addressed the nation and announced her “Let’s Move” campaign to combat childhood obesity.
About Growing Power
Growing Power was started in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1993 by Will Allen, a 2008 winner of a MacArthur “Genius Award” who has long worked to produce and deliver healthy food to low-income communities. It is a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. Their vision is to inspire communities to build sustainable food systems that are equitable and ecologically sound, creating a just world, one food-secure community at a time
