( CNN ) -- As a lifelong resident of South Central Los Angeles , I refuse to be part of the social system that breeds problems rather than solutions . South Central is a `` food desert '' where the lack of healthy food alternatives leads to obesity and preventable disease . I have raised my sons in South L.A. , and it is heartbreaking to see so many young kids on a trajectory to nowhere , potential high school dropouts prey to gangs , drugs , violence and incarceration . So where do we start to create positive change ? I believe that change starts from within , and unless you want to take the first step , change will never happen . We need to take the responsibility to be the creative force in our society . We need to be the gardeners of our society . TED.com : Ron Finley 's talk on gardening in South Central . So instead of waiting for others ( the city or other units of government ) , I decided to take my shovel , my weapon of change , and start gardening . Change begins with youth and healthy role models . Gardening takes care of both . It builds community . Children learn what they live . If children live with hostility , they learn to fight . If they live with fear , they learn to be apprehensive . If they live with criticism , they learn to condemn . If they live around alcohol , drugs , unhealthy food and violence , this is what they will reproduce in their lives and in society in general . This is a vicious circle that needs to end . My vision is that gardening can do that -- and my organization has been planting gardens in South Central , including ones on city-owned land . If kids grow kale , kids eat kale . If they grow tomatoes , they eat tomatoes . But when none of this is presented to them , if they 're not shown how food affects the mind and the body , they blindly eat whatever you put in front of them . When kids learn to grow vegetables , they learn not only how to eat in a healthy way but how to be productive and are armed with a value system that will help them to navigate in their lives -- values such as patience , appreciation , sharing , honesty and respect . You will be surprised how kids are affected by this . One day , I was out in my garden attending to my sunflowers when a teenager passed by with his earphones hooked up , listening to his music . When he saw the huge sunflowers in my garden , he was taken aback : `` Yo ! Is dat real ? '' He was screaming . A few days later , he joined us in the garden . TED Blog : A visit to Ron Finley 's garden . But gardening 's therapeutic effect is not only for kids . I have been to homeless shelters to install gardens . People will come around and will start telling stories of gardening with their mothers and grandmothers . I see hopeless faces light up ; I see the seed of hope where none existed before , and this is for me a great reward . Our society -- not just South Central -- suffers from social corrosion . Due to the economic crisis , parents have to work long hours ( if they are lucky enough to have a job ) , and often , kids are neglected . In many cases , kids grow up with their TV set as parent . Technology offers more ways of nominal communication , but our society tends to promote actual isolation . It is crucially important to cultivate nourishing relationships and human connections , and gardening can definitely do that . So who do you want to be : a bystander or a force of positive change ? Pick up your shovel , bring some compost and come meet me in the garden . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Finley .
Ron Finley : South Central Los Angeles is a `` food desert '' with few healthy alternatives . He says one key to improving health is getting children involved in change . Finley says gardening is therapeutic and promotes idea of healthy eating .