A Los Angeles-based fashion designer is starting an urban garden revolution in his neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. Instead of vacant lots — the city owns miles and miles of these in LA county — Ron Finley wants to help residents to plant a million tomato plants.
He is co-founder of LA Green Grounds, a company that plants gardens at low-income homes as a part of a recovery system to transform neighborhoods.
Earlier this year he gave a TED talk on his progress as a “guerrilla gardener,” the dangers of food deserts, and the potential for his program to improve quality of life.
He said in the talk, “If kids grow kale, kids eat kale; if they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes.”
According to Wikipedia, the program has had modest success in persuading city officials to cooperate, but remains officially illegal under city code.
(WATCH the videos below, or READ his Op/Ed at CNN)