Disrupting Poverty Cycles Through Urban Farming with Erika Allen | BWI #59

Episode 59 - Disrupting Poverty Cycles Through Urban Farming with Erika Allen We all know the role that what we eat plays in our health, but not everyone has access to quality foods, especially those in urban environments. How can you expect people to eat better if better foods are not available in their environments? Erika Allen is the Co-Founder and CEO – Strategic Development and Programs for Urban Growers Collective and the President of Green ERA Educational NFP and Co-Owner of Green Era Sustainability Partners.  Previously, Erika founded and was the Director of Growing Power – Chicago for 15 years from 2002 to 2017. Erika is the co-founder of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council, serves on the board of Grow Greater Englewood and Leadership Council for Growing Home, and is an advisor for the Community Food Navigator project. Key Moments: How Erika got involved in helping people get in contact with healthy foods in urban environments How growing up on a farm helped shape her love for quality foods and made her want to get involved Why creating compost was technically illegal and how that got Erika and the others involved in working with policymakers How the community gardens are helping to disrupt poverty cycles in Chicago Why Erika feels we can not rely on external forces to be in control of what we are eating How Erika and the others can get around the presence of contaminated soils Why plants are much better equipped to handle air pollution than humans The variety of ways that Urban Growers Collective works within the community     Favorite Quote: "We're being sold things that we don't necessarily need to be ingesting, and we have the opportunity to both educate and to provide an alternative." -Erika Allen   CONNECT WITH ERIKA: Erika Allen is the Co-Founder & CEO of Strategic Development and Programs for Urban Growers Collective,  the President of Green ERA Educational NFP and Co-Owner of Green Era Sustainability Partners. Erika Allen's work exemplifies a strong commitment to sustainability, the eradication of environmental injustice and promotion of regenerative, urban agriculture within Chicago. UrbanGrowersCollective.org   Connect with Jeanne:  The first important thought I remember having was that "Anything Is Possible". My parents moving me and my nine siblings from California to Australia might have had something to do with this. I believe anything is possible and that people have the genius within them to find and live in their Genius Zone... their Ultimate Potential without burnout and without burning those who surround them.  For more information on her coaching programs for coaches: www.jeanneomlor.com/reviews/ For Elite coaching for CEOs, celebrities, and Icons: https://jeanneomlor.com/private-label-advisory/ Follow Jeanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanneomlor/