Ron Finley is a guerilla gardener in South Central Los Angeles who's inspired me and countless others planting gardens in the food deserts of the inner cities.
Meet Ron Finley
When I first heard of Ron Finley, I had just left my 10 year career in sales in beautiful Cancun to look for a place in Washington I could grow food. As beautiful as those beaches in Mexico were, the soil pales compared to the Pacific Northwest.
It was winter in Seattle. I was holed up at the Green Tortoise hostel with a certainty that I would be growing something, somewhere by next season when I found the video of his TED talk.
Tears welled up in my eyes when I first saw it. I have been around good food all my life and to hear him tell his story of living in a food desert had an effect on me. You know when you realize how you've been taking the simple things in life for granted. That feeling.
His words are the same mantra I have been chanting to myself and anyone who'll listen. Growing food is more than a hobby. It's a game changer.
If you haven't seen his TED talk go see it right now.
Ron's TED Talk
Go on, Go See It. I'll Wait
With no place to dig yet I went out and got a shovel after listening to him talk. I looked him up on Facebook and sent him a friend request and shared with him how that video inspired me. He replied back and now we're on Facebook.
Ron has done a lot of things to change his community for the better, centering around growing food and expanding from there.
Coming To You
His newest project is a film planting seeds in cities throughout the U.S. to create a paradigm shift in food availability.
Food is more than nourishment, it's the glue that binds communities together, the fuel that feeds commitment to each other. It's life.
Ron will personally come to your community to plant the seeds of change that every city needs. If you want to be part of the solution you should watch this.
Go watch his trailer and be inspired. Be the change. If they can do this in South Central L.A. we can do it anywhere.
