Urban Roots is an urban agriculture nonprofit that repurposes underused land inside the city boundary for growing fruits and vegetables. Executive Director Anna Badillo shares her journey from adopting the playful "Farmer Anna" persona during the pandemic to leading a community-driven organization addressing food security and sustainability. She discusses Urban Roots' innovative "model of thirds," which balances food donations, affordable sales, and market-rate sales to ensure equitable access to fresh, healthy produce. Anna highlights the organization's focus on community building, hands-on learning, and sustainable farming practices, including low-till methods and native pollinator gardens. She also explores the transformative potential of urban agriculture in challenging industrialized food systems and promoting food literacy. From quirky beginnings to impactful leadership, Anna’s passion for grassroots organizing and climate action shines through. In this episode, you’ll discover how Urban Roots is cultivating fresh food and connected communities while inspiring hope for future generations.

Anna Badillo is the Executive Director of Urban Roots London. She is a multifaceted community organizer, academic, and activist whose work spans various fields and disciplines. She is passionate about food security, land-based education, and creating inclusive and equitable environments that promote community and relationship-building.

Visit bio.site/GrowAbilityPod for links to our StoryHub and Socials.

• Website: urbanrootslondon.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanrootslondon
• Twitter: https://x.com/UrbanRootsLdnOn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanRootsLdnOnt
• Nourish Leadership: https://nourishleadership.ca/
• Report co-authored with Dr. Gabor Sass: https://www.urbanrootslondon.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Sass-Badillo-Urban-Agriculture-as-Climate-Action-2024-2.pdf

GrowAbility is hosted by Joe Gansevles and Holly Pugsley, and produced by Joe Gansevles and Adam Caplan.

Special thanks to this week’s guest, Anna Badillo.

Lighting & Camera design by Kevin Labonte, with production support from Oliver Gansevles.

GrowAbility’s production was made much easier with the help of Jesse Chen, Terry Fujioka, Zack Grossman, Zachary Meads, Leo Shin, and Debora Camargo from Fanshawe College's Broadcasting Television & Film Production Program.

Thanks to Janice Robinson from Fanshawe for arranging for these students invaluable participation.

Holly Pugsley of Just Keep Growing provided the plants and made sure they looked great.

Audience and Marketing Strategy by Japs Kaur Miglani with support from Doruntina Uka and Tess Alcock.

Our theme music is Wandering William by Adrian Walther and can be found on Sound Stripe.

Thanks as well to Hubert Orlowski for providing technical and audio engineering advice to help our podcast sound great.

Adam Caplan is web.isod.es Executive Producer and Sammy Orlowski is our Senior Creator.

Special thanks to Jennifer Routly from Siskinds The Law Firm, for arranging to host us at their beautiful head office in downtown London, Ontario.

GrowAbility is a webisodes production and is produced with the support and participation of the team at The PATCH and Hutton House.