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Will Allen (center) Growing Power founder, talks with Matt McClutchy, his son Oliver, 7, and Lacee Perry on Monday at the grand opening Growing Power's Deli and Food Market at 2737 North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The stretch of N. Martin Luther King Drive where Milwaukee's "genius farmer" Will Allen decided to open a deli-market is considered a food desert.
Just down the street, there's a fried chicken place; go a bit farther, you'll find a fried seafood place. Just up the street, there's a hamburger joint.
Staring out the window, Allen sees a wasteland for folks looking to eat right.
"According to USDA, it's considered a food desert if you don't have a full-service grocery store within a mile of your home," said Allen, the nationally recognized founder of the local Growing Power organization. "This is a place where people can come and get healthy food and juices. It's about giving people a choice."
We were talking at the new Growing Power Deli and Food Market at 2737 N. King Drive, a new retail space with residential units and a healthy food market with organic products in what Allen called a one-of-a-kind development.
In 2008, Allen was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship grant - some call it a genius grant - given to noteworthy Americans in many different fields.
The $500,000 grant managed to focus national attention on Allen's work in Wisconsin with new initiatives such as greenhouses with vertical crops grown in tall structures that take up less space, and utilizing vacant lots in urban areas for agricultural development.
The award also raised his profile to the point where he's been able to work closely with people like first lady Michelle Obama in nutrition.
Allen had planned an official opening for the King Drive store on Monday with local dignitaries in attendance. But the tragic news about the shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek prompted him to postpone it. Allen has lived in Oak Creek for 36 years and didn't think a celebration would be appropriate.
The store has been open for a few weeks with a menu of soups, sandwiches, juices and fresh produce from some of the various farms Allen has helped develop across the state. He's the CEO and founder, but basically Allen, 63, still considers himself a farmer just like his parents.
To him, it's a prestigious position.
"In other places, farmers are put up on a pedestal," said Allen, noting that isn't the case in the U.S. "They are considered the most important people in our society because, after all, they grow the food that we eat."
Allen said the mission to get people to consume more nutritious meals is as vital as ever, particularly in low-income urban neighborhoods. Allen thinks many of the nation's health care costs could be alleviated by a change in diet.
"About two-thirds of our health care costs can be connected to lack of nutrition," said Allen. "If you don't eat healthy, you pay for it on the back end."
Although he's lauded for his accomplishments, Allen remains a humble man who understands the difficulty some people have trying to eat right. But he doesn't accept any excuses from those who say they don't have time to eat nutritional meals.
"The way I see it, it takes just as much time to go to a fast-food restaurant. You have to drive there and wait in line. So I just think we have to educate people. If you give them a choice, they can see what comes out of the soil can do wonderful things."