Growing Power to Expand Overseas

Another interesting development for one of the most exciting Urban Agriculture programs: the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) announced – among many other commitments – that Milwaukee-based Growing Power will be branching out to work on food security issues in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The CGI Fifth Annual Meeting press release stated that:

Growing Power commits to strengthen food security for school children and their care givers in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Growing Power will build a new model of local food systems to ensure adequate nutrition in the short-term and build a long-term foundation for competitive African human capital in the global market place.

Growing Power has, under the leadership of Will Allen, expanded its operation from its roots in Milwaukee to add farms in Merton, Wisconsin and Chicago, and established satellite training sites in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi.

This latest announcement looks set to bring Growing Power’s insight into the issues of urban agriculture and food access to Southern Africa. However as Tom Philpott points out at Grist, what works in Milwaukee won’t necessarily be appropriate in Maputo. Local resources, particularly in terms of the city food waste that Allen uses in Milwaukee, are very different. The project is posed as a cultural exchange, with activists learning from examples in both regions.

Keep an eye on the Growing Power blog for more on this.