Kahsai 1

Meron Kahsai

ENGL 115

Professor Rodrick

30 September 2019

In Ron Finley’s Ted Talk “A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA”, he talks about the

problems that are happening in South Central Los Angeles, what he’s done to improve on these

problems, and how other people can help out. The problems that he talks about are the

abundance of empty land in South Central and the lack of healthy food over there. He explains

how because there aren’t many options for people in that area to obtain healthy foods, many have

to choose to eat less healthier foods. This has caused the neighborhood to have a higher obesity

rate than other neighborhoods around it. He also explains to them how it’s much easier to see

dialysis centers and wheelchairs than to see any farmers markets around the neighborhood. Ron

Finley brings up a solution that he thinks would solve the problem with the choice of food in that

area. He believes that since there are so many vacant lots in Los Angeles, people should use

them to plant vegetables and fruits for themselves and the community. He also explains to the

crowd how he and a group of people have been creating a garden on the parkways near his

house. The city was against what they were doing and sent them a warrant for them to remove it.

Instead of backing down, they went against it and collected 900 signatures for a petition to keep

the gardens. They succeeded in keeping the garden and even received encouraging words from

their councilman. From their Ron Finley and his group Green Grounds have been sharing their

gardens with the community and helping people strive towards eating healthier foods and

growing their own food.