Will Allen, who took a buyout from Procter & Gamble to become an urban farmer, is a winner of one of the MacArthur Foundation's 2008 "genius" awards for his work "transforming the cultivation, production, and delivery of healthy foods to underserved, urban populations."

Allen, 59 years old, is one of the seven MacArthur winners this year (out of 25) who are more than 50 years old. The increasing number of older winners bears out economist David Galenson's findings that genius comes in two forms: younger innovators who are distinguished by conceptual breakthroughs (the proverbial light bulb going on overhead), and older innovators who have an experimental bent, an approach to problem-solving that relies on years of experience and improvement.

Allen, who had a brief pro basketball career and then worked as a marketer for P&G, took a buyout in 1982 and used the proceeds to buy a farm south of Milwaukee. In 1995, while assisting neighborhood children with a gardening project, Allen began developing the farming methods and educational programs that have grown into Growing Power, the nonprofit he directs and co-founded.

Allen recognized that limited access to safe and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables contributed to the unhealthy diets of low-income, urban populations, along with obesity and diabetes. Instead of the “back to the land” approach promoted by many within the sustainable agriculture movement, Allen instead grows and distributes food from two acres within Milwaukee's city limits. With low-cost farming techniques such as aquaculture, vermiculture (worms!), and compost-heated greenhouses, Growing Power produces vast amounts of food year-round. Growing Power has recently started growing produce and livestock at other sites in and around Milwaukee and Chicago.

Growing Power's internships and workshops engage teenagers and young adults, many minorities and immigrants, in producing healthy foods for their communities. Allen is experimenting with new and creative ways to improve the diet and health of the urban poor.

“You can talk all you want, but unless people can see something working, it’s a hard sell,” Allen told Plenty magazine last year. “It’s an easy sell if they can touch it, feel it, see it.”