Will Allen is a former professional basketball player, but he decided to trade the court for crops. Allen is credited as a pioneer in urban agriculture in Milwaukee.  

He started Growing Power in 1995. The non-profit initiative revolutionized how the city thought about local food production and education. Growing Power ceased operations in 2017, in the face of legal and financial problems. But the organization left its mark, paving the way for future flourishing urban agriculture initiatives in the city.  

WUWM’s Eric Von Fellow Maria Peralta-Arellano spoke with Allen as part of her series called Feeding the City: The People Powering Local Food.