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Growing Out of Hunger with Will Allen

January 27, 2011

The 2011 Bruce and Lis Welch Community Dialogue brought MacArthur Genius Award-winner and Growing Power CEO Will Allen to engage with the Vancouver food-growing community. 

An urban farmer and community activist, Will Allen is dedicated to supporting low income and small family farmers and bringing healthy, affordable food to urban areas.

This three-day visit, a part of the Centre for Dialogue's Planning Cities as if Food Matters project, attracted over 700 attendees to the public lecture and allowed organizations who are involved in growing urban food to share what Vancouver is doing as well as learn from Growing Power’s success story. 

About Will Allen

Will Allen, urban farmer and community activist, is dedicated to supporting low income and small family farmers and bringing healthy, affordable food to urban areas. Will has over fifty years experience in farming, marketing and distributing food and has shared this knowledge with youth, adults, community groups, immigrants, farmers and consumers. Winner of the $500,000 MacArthur Genius Fellowship in 2008, Will Allen is transforming the cultivation, production, and delivery of healthy foods to underserved urban populations.

Events

  • Public lecture, on how Will Allen’s inner-city food-growing project works: how to get the community involved, how to manage growing the food, how to distribute fresh, healthy food to those who need it most
  • Meeting with Vancouver City Hall, including regional food policy staff and politicians
  • Tours of Metro Vancouver, including SOLEfood, the City of Richmond and a garden tour and classroom session with Windermere High School
  • Food Hub roundtable, discussing Growing Power’s food distribution successes and the plans and business models under consideration for a food hub in Vancouver

Select Media & Commentary

Canada Needs to Restore Faith in the Justice System, The Vancouver Sun (June 18, 2012)

ABOUT THE BRUCE AND LIS WELCH COMMUNITY DIALOGUE

Exploring critical community issues through dialogue, this annual programming engages the community at large with the academic community to explore innovative approaches to local issues through cross-sectoral dialogue.