New Haven Land Trust 30th Anniversary Gala CTbites Team October 04, 2012 Will Allen, Founder and CEO of Growing Power and author of The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities, is going to be giving the keynote address on local food at The New Haven Land Trust 30thAnniversary Celebration Dinner on Friday, October 12th at 6:00 p.m. at Yale Commons, 168 Grove St, New Haven, CT. Purchase tickets to the NHLT 30th Anniversary Dinner here. The New Haven Land Trust [NHLT] is dedicated to local food system development, land conservation and environmental education, and maintains close to 80 acres comprising a variety of habitats. The NHLT also provides land and technical assistance to their nearly 50 community gardens across the city and continually seeks to educate the public about the environment, ecology, land use, and food. Will Allen, son of a sharecropper, former professional basketball player, ex-corporate sales leader, and now farmer, is recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent thinkers on agriculture and food policy. Will is widely considered the leading authority in urban agriculture. In 2008, Will was named a John D. and Katherine T. McArthur Foundation Fellow and was awarded a prestigious foundation “genius award” for his work – only the second farmer ever to be so honored. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and in February 2010, he was invited to the White House to join First Lady Michelle Obama in launching “Let’s Move!” her signature leadership program to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. That same year, Time named him to the Time 100 World’s Most Influential People list. Chris Randall, Executive Director of the NH Land Trust, has recently been appointed to the Connecticut Grown Task Force, otherwise known as the Local Foods Task Force, by Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney. Chris also serves on the board of New Haven Farms and Grow New Haven, two newly founded community organizations that seek to increase food security through urban farms and school gardens. Chris continues to be heavily engaged in creating a robust local food system through the work of the New Haven Land Trust and is very pleased that Will Allen can attend their 30th Anniversary event. Of Will’s visit, Chris noted, “He [Will] is a revolutionary in the urban agriculture movement and his visit to our city is a sign that good things are happening here in terms of local food production.” Growing Power’s mission is to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach, and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market, and distribute food in a sustainable manner. The weekend of Will Allen’s visit will include two other community events, including “The Big Stink”, a city-wide garlic planting festival and a City of New Haven Food Summit. Or for more information about the organization itself, contact the New Haven Land Trust at 203.562.6655 or visit www.newhavenlandtrust.org Find out more about Will and Growing Power at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EpTWQWx1MQ
