Gangsta Gardener in South Central LA is Planting Free Gardens for the Community

As a person who has lived in Los Angeles for 7 years, I can tell you, there is also a lot of ugly inside the pockets of the beauty.

That is why I am incredibly happy to share this amazing story about a beautiful human being by the name of Ron Finley, who is making a monumental difference in South Central Los Angeles.

South Central is a place where you can find a plethora of liquor stores and an over-abundance of fast food restaurants; its a place where fresh and healthy food is almost non existent and being sick is the norm among the people who live there.

Gangsta Gardener is Planting Free Gardens

Ron refers to South Central as the “home of the drive-bys and the drive thrus” and says that “wheel chairs are being sold like used cars and dialysis centers are popping up like Starbucks.”

“I got tired of driving 45 minutes to get an apple that wasn’t impregnated with pesticides.” – Ron Finley

Ron grew up in South Central and raised his sons there but he refused “to be a part of the manufactured reality so he manufactured his own reality.”

Ron started with growing his own garden and when the city cited him for it, he fought and convinced the LA county council to allow street curbs and open spaces to be turned into gardens.

That’s when he started teaching kids how to grow, harvest and cook their own food.

“LA leads the USA in vacant lots. That’s 20 Central Parks (New York). That’s enough space to plant 725,000,000 tomato plants. We did it in LA, we can do this all over the world.” – Ron Finley

When asked whether he was afraid of people stealing the food, he replied, “Hell no I ain’t afraid, that’s why it’s on the street! That’s the whole idea! I want people to take the food but at the same time, I want them to take back their health.”

“If kids grow kale, kids eat kale! If kids grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes! If kids aren’t shown how food affects the mind and the body, they blindly eat whatever the hell you put in front of them.” – Ron Finley

Through Ron’s program, Green Grounds, Ron and over 50 volunteers have planted over 20 gardens in South Central, including homeless shelters. Want to volunteer? Ron says,” if you want to meet with me, come to the garden with your shovel so we can plant some s***!”

“A garden can change people’s lives, it can change the structure of a community. When you put beauty in a place that doesn’t generally have it, it’s a game changer.” – Ron Finley

Thank you Ron, from the bottom of our hearts.

As a person who has lived in Los Angeles for 7 years, I can tell you, there is also a lot of ugly inside the pockets of the beauty. That is why I am incredibly happy to share this amazing story about a beautiful human being by the name of Ron Finley, who is making…