Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Guerilla Gardener from South L.A. Gives Inspiring TED Talk
Ron Finley, a South Central L.A. native, is trying to change the way his community eats. Along with his nonprofit organization L.A. Green Grounds is all about paying it forward in the form of food. His volunteers include gardeners from all walks of life who are working for free in the hopes of eliminating L.A.'s food deserts by planting gardens in some of its 26 square miles of vacant lots.
It all started when he grew a 150 foot "food forest" in a food desert on a parkway that was owned by the city. He was hoping not only to feed himself, but his community, which has obesity rates are five times as high as in Beverly Hills. "Dialysis centers are popping up like Starbucks," he said in his recent TED Talk, which was just posted online and below.
Finley recognized that food was food was both the problem and the solution. So he started growing organic fruits and vegetables on a small vacant patch of city land outside his house.
But back in 2011, Finley was threatened with a warrant if he didn't take out the garden. But that didn't stop him. After getting a write up from Steve Lopez in the LA Times and rallying the support of the community, the guerrilla gardeners were allowed to carry on about their business.
Support for LAist comes from
Finley hopes that his work will help train kids to take over their communities, showing them the glories of growing their own produce. He wants to make growing cool, turning thugs into "gangster gardeners." It's sort of a legal hustle, and one that can truly help better the community.
"Growing your own food is like printing your own money," he says.
Watch the video here, and prepare to be inspired.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist