{"id":6817,"date":"2015-12-09T22:24:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T03:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/growing-power-cultivating-change-in-cities-through-sustainable-agriculture\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T22:24:13","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T03:24:13","slug":"growing-power-cultivating-change-in-cities-through-sustainable-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/growing-power-cultivating-change-in-cities-through-sustainable-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Power \u2013 Cultivating Change in Cities through Sustainable Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Urban Farmer Starting His Own Revolution | SuperSoul Sunday | Oprah Winfrey Network\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ILLLIcrmSDk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Growing Power<\/p>\n<p>The mission: to transform communities. The means: providing safe, affordable, sustainable, and healthy foods to the underserved, underprivileged in urban settings. An effort started in 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin \u2013 a city recently recognized as one of the most segregated and economically disparate cities in America [1] \u2013 Growing Power has grown into a national model of successful sustainable food systems in urban settings. Will Allen, founder of Growing Power, was recognized for his efforts when he was\u00a0named in Time Magazine in 2010 as\u00a0one of 100 World\u2019s Most Influential People [2]. \u00a0The vision is simple; \u201cto grow food, to grow minds, and to grow community\u201d [3]. The results are encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Business Model<\/p>\n<p>Growing Power is a non-profit organization with a vision of transforming communities by serving underprivileged populations. Value is created for and captured by the community in two ways. First, the company provides healthy, fresh, and sustainable foods at affordable prices to underserved populations which would otherwise not have the financial means or access to purchase quality food. A single two-acre farm in Milwaukee helps to feed 10,000 people [4]! Second, the organization works to empower underprivileged youth by involving and employing them in their urban greenhouses, training the youth in job and life skills and working to promote their future employability.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Operating Model<\/p>\n<p>The genius of the simple but effective model is that Growing Power capitalizes on so many aspects of the ecosystem that it is in to promote positive results for that community. It all revolves around the organization\u2019s purposeful location. Growing Power grows its produce from 14 greenhouses on two\u00a0acres of land right in the city and within six blocks from the largest public housing project in Milwaukee. The proximity to the community enables the system. It eliminates lengthy transportation needs to carry food to sell as produce travels less than 30 miles on average [5], helping to keep costs low and food accessible to the community otherwise served by fast food and convenience stores. It decreases the environmental impact of otherwise having food shipped in over long distances and often from out of state [6]. Growing Power employs the youth of the community to grow its food; the location allows young employees to walk to work, eliminating the potential barrier of accessibility. Its physical visibility in the heart of the city also promotes awareness of the efforts within the broader community. The organization\u00a0provides hands-on opportunities for children in the community to get involved in learning about growing food sustainably and the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, evolving into a sort of haven\u00a0for children of the community to learn and experience in a safe environment. Growing Power also benefits from proximity to other businesses and restaurants in Milwaukee; it creates its soil by composting food waste generated in the city where thousands of pounds are generated daily.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Summary<\/p>\n<p>The alignment between Growing Power\u2019s business model (transforming a city by serving underprivileged populations) and operating model (organizing in the heart of the community) has promoted the success of the cause. Growing Power creates a model for a sustainable urban food system by organizing in and capitalizing on its ecosystem; choosing a location with the human resources (urban youth employees), raw materials (food waste generation), and proximity to sale (eliminating food transportation needs) to benefit the community. \u00a0The model has been successfully replicated in other cities in the midwest.<\/p>\n<p>Sources<\/p>\n<p>[1] <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-9-most-segregated-cities-in-america_55df53e9e4b0e7117ba92d7f\">http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/the-9-most-segregated-cities-in-america_55df53e9e4b0e7117ba92d7f<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[2]\u00a0http:\/\/www.growingpower.org\/about\/leadership\/will-allen\/<\/p>\n<p>[3] \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.growingpower.org\">http:\/\/www.growingpower.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ILLLIcrmSDk\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ILLLIcrmSDk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K5zP4WPgcqY\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K5zP4WPgcqY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vs7BG4lH3m4\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vs7BG4lH3m4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Growing Power The mission: to transform communities. The means: providing safe, affordable, sustainable, and healthy foods to the underserved, underprivileged in urban settings. An effort started in 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin \u2013 a city recently recognized as one of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":660,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-6817","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Growing Power \u2013 Cultivating Change in Cities through Sustainable Agriculture - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/growing-power-cultivating-change-in-cities-through-sustainable-agriculture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growing Power \u2013 Cultivating Change in Cities through Sustainable Agriculture - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Growing Power The mission: to transform communities. 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