The 2012-2013 season of the Hunter Lecture Series continues with Will Allen, a former professional basketball player turned urban farmer. Allen will be speaking on February 26 at 7 p.m. at Roland Hayes Auditorium in the UTC Fine Arts Center. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited; first come, first served.
Will Allen
Allen is the founder of Growing Power, a two-acre urban farm in Milwaukee that produces thousands of pounds of healthy food each year for the surrounding low-income neighborhoods. At Growing Power and in community food projects across the nation and around the world, Allen promotes the belief that all people, regardless of their economic circumstances, should have access to fresh, safe, affordable and nutritious foods at all times.
In 2008, Allen was named a John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow, a “genius grant,” only the second farmer ever to be so honored. In 2011, Allen was named one of the Seven World’s Most Influential Foodies by Michael Pollan and Forbes Magazine. He received the 2012 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt award and was also honored with the NEA Security Benefit Corporation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education in 2012 for his work with children, teachers and schools.
His new book, The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People and Communities, outlines how local food systems can strengthen the health and economy of communities across the nation.
Now in its fifth year, the George T. Hunter Lecture Series is a partnership of The Benwood Foundation and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The goal of the series is to raise awareness of some of our most important public policy issues by bringing community opinion leaders, residents, students, and scholars together to hear from and engage in dialogue with national leaders. For more information, visit www.benwood.org.
