Milwaukee-based Growing Power is mourning the passing of Jerry Kaufman, its longtime board president.
Kaufman passed away at his home on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, after a long illness.
Kaufman touched thousands of lives through his dedicated work in community food system planning and urban agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and through his commitment to the real-time application of those themes in urban communities throughout the country and particularly in Milwaukee.
Will Allen, founder and chief executive officer of Growing Power, said, “From a personal perspective, Jerry was not only a wonderful friend and mentor, but a father figure and his legacy will continue to live on and grow through all of Growing Power’s programs and new ventures. I affectionately called him ‘the father of food system planners’ because as I travel the country I meet many of his students and colleagues who have become passionate about developing equitable food systems for all the members of our society.”
Growing Power’s new vertical farm building in Milwaukee will be named the Jerry Kaufman Center in honor of his work and legacy.
Kaufman will be succeeded by Welford Sanders, assistant adjunct professor at the School of Architecture & Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and executive director of the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp. Welford has worked with Growing Power for the past 15 years and has spent the last four as vice president.
For additional information about Growing Power’s vertical farm project, visit http://www.growingpower.org/verticalfarm.html.
