An unlikely farmer with an unlikely place to farm—and the effect he’s having on low-income kids, communities and presidents (yes, plural)—is the subject of my latest USA Character Approved Blog post.

A World War I-era song asks the musical question “How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm? (After They’ve Seen Paree).” When Will Allen left his father’s farm on a college basketball scholarship, he certainly had no intention of ever returning to farming. But after a pro basketball career in the US and in Europe (where he certainly got to see the lights of Paris) and a stint in the corporate world, back to the farm is exactly where he headed.

It was while playing ball in Belgium and driving around the countryside there that Allen began to feel the pull of the farm again. Soon, he was hanging out with Belgian farmers and moving to a house with room for a garden and some chickens. Continue reading “Will Allen: Basketball player, farmer, major voice for urban agriculture” →