Episode 131: Jeremy Andrews of Sprout Urban Farms
b'The idea for Sprout Urban Farms germinated in 2009 when a citizen approached Jeremy Andrews (far right), a community organizer, about helping him start a community garden. After news spread throughout the city about the possibility of a new community garden, others expressed interest in community gardening. To better gauge the interest throughout the city, a like minded group of people decided to hold a community forum on community gardening. Attendees of the forum decided to collectively work on several issues and projects for that year. It was at that most wonderful gathering of over 100 citizens from all corners of our county, that Sprout Urban Farms was born. For nearly two years, Sprout Urban Farms was a completely volunteer-ran, and unfunded organization of really cool people with all kinds of creativity, vision, and the drive to ACT towards accomplishing our goals. In the spring of 2011, the Fair Food Network granted Sprout Urban Farms its first large sum of monies to continue our work in Battle Creek, Michigan. That funding was followed by funding from the Battle Creek Community Foundation. Now with funding, the organizer who helped develop Sprout, became its Executive Director. Under the direction of Mr. Andrews, Sprout has continued to garner regional and national attention for our work in improving food access and making our city that much better. This episode has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch. If youre successful at community organizing, the community doesnt need organizing anymore. Everyone is then a community organizer. [19:05] -- Jeremy Andrews on Greenhorn Radio'