Chanowk Yisrael is the founder of the Yisrael Family Urban Farm located in Sacramento, California. In pre-recession 2007, Chanowk worked in the computer field and heard rumors swirling about economic collapse. He wondered what sort of impact a national financial meltdown would have on his family, and how he might provide for them.He began transforming his yard into a garden to grow food. He wasn’t successful initially, but Chanowk began studying urban farming. He realized Oak Park was considered a food desert with a shortage of grocery stores offering healthy foods. The farm now has over 40 fruit trees producing fruits like Asian plums, persimmons and figs. Several beds produce vegetables such as kale, beets and collard greens. Cacti grow prickly pears while a pecan tree from next door overflows into the yard. Clucking free-range chickens roam in their own section and lay eggs. A nearby honeybee hive sits abandoned due to colony collapse disorder last year.

Women of Consequence 

Women of Consequence: Ambitious, Ancillary, Anonymous” tells the stories of women who have contributed to the political landscape of America but have often been viewed as ancillary or, worse, anonymous.

Through the lens of arts-based research, the program incorporates dance, music, poetry, drama and the visual arts to bring the lives of these women to life. It also seeks to promote audience discussion about freedom of expression and equality for all women. Women highlighted in the production included abolitionist and Union Army scout Harriet Tubman, writer and reformer Harriet Jacobs, novelist Harriet Wilson, editor and political advocate Mary Ann Shadd Cary (a Delaware native), activist and educator Charlotte Forten and poet Frances Harper. The full program was designed to celebrate the past and present contributions of women and to encourage the audience to foster a successful future for all women.

Dr. Allison Karpyn is Associate Director of the University of Delaware at the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP). She is dedicated to supporting underserved communities with research designed to understand the impacts of promising interventions or practices. Her work spans the sectors of education and public health and her expertise centers on best-practices for program research, evaluation and measurement. Dr. Karpyn, in her 18 years of practice, has published widely on program evaluation methods, topics related to school food, supermarket access, healthy corner stores and strategies to develop and maintain farmers’ markets in low income areas and the translation of research to practice.