Interviews

Ron Finley the "Gangsta Gardener" vs Food Deserts

"If People Grow together, they grow together" - Ron Finley

Planting arugula and chatting with Ron Finley in DC, 2022

"If People Grow together, they grow together" - Ron Finley

A few years ago I had some extra free time after uni, and went on a little side quest. I saw some cool things happening on eventbrite and went to check it out.

Ron Finley was in town!

I remember watching his Ted Talk on how he got a citation from the City for starting a community garden in South Central Los Angeles. He also shared his story when he was on tour and visited my old uni in Humboldt!

Watch the Ron Finely Ted Talk on YouTube!

He wanted to combat the "food deserts" in the community which are basically "physical, monetary and social barriers" where certain communities cannot get access to fresh, healthy, nutritious foods.

Here is an overview of Food Deserts

Food deserts leave lasting impact on local community health https://www.wuft.org/agriculture/2023-03-02/food-deserts-leave-lasting-impact-on-local-community-health

The Solution (7 Steps):

Gather with your local community
Find a place to plant
Grow a garden (get some seeds, or seedlings)
Learn about nature, plants and gardening
Learn to Cook (get inspiration from developing countries... they really know how to stretch a dollar)
Take care of it together
Enjoy the health benefits of community, being in nature, learning about plants, and eating tasty food!

Quick Chat with the Gangsta Gardener

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"If People Grow together, they grow together" - Ron Finley

I also ask Ron if he could eat a Sandwich with anyone dead or alive, who would it be with and why! As well as the sandwich of course!

Also another cool thing I saw on my flight to South America that year was Ron Finley's MasterClass on the Airliner Infotainment Screen! Was nice to meet the person behind it and see their work scaled across on a larger scale!