Food injustice is one of America’s biggest problems. Every major city throughout the U.S. has a food desert—underserved communities where people have to travel on average 3 miles (4.9 km) to find fresh produce. But with fast food restaurants and liquor stores on every corner. And the lack of fresh food in people’s daily diet creates lower life expectancy, a higher percentage of diabetes rates and other chronic diseases, and a continuing cycle of poverty. Add the rise of inflation during 2022, and what was an already difficult situation became even worse.

To shift people’s perspective about the value of growing our own food, we created a global inflationary-hedge currency. Money printed with Ron’s face that grows fresh produce. With a true-to-life amount of dollars each bill can yield. Each bill grew a different type of vegetable, such as rainbow carrots, arugula, collard greens, and red cherry tomatoes. The more expensive the vegetables get, the more valuable the bills become. Those living in food deserts could apply to get their bills through a website. And to launch it, Ron Finley led a march, for the same 3 miles those communities must walk to find fresh vegetables. But this time, it was so no one had to march for food again. From the food desert of Anacostia to the Federal Reserve building in D.C., the heart of the US financial system.

With zero media money to invest, our target market was the 20 million Americans currently trying to survive in food deserts. So we needed something bold to make the word spread: growing your own food is like printing your own money. First, we created the first global inflationary-hedge currency: money printed with Ron’s face that grows fresh produce. With a true-to-life amount of dollars each bill can yield. The more expensive the vegetables get, the more valuable the bills become. Available exclusively to people living in food deserts. To let them know, gardener activist Ron Finley marched alongside with people from the community of Anacostia, a food desert located in Washington D.C., to the Constitution Gardens, in front of the Federal Reserve. There, at the heart of the US financial system, Ron planted some bills and taught the community how growing your own food is like printing your own money.

Each bill was printed to look and feel identical to the actual American dollar: same paper and weight, serial numbers, raised printing, 3D security ribbon, foil-stamped numerals. We embedded real seeds with a technique making it easier to grow. Each bill yields the equivalent dollar of the bill. The higher the inflation, the higher the value. The launch activation highlighted the distance people living in food deserts must travel just to get fresh vegetables. Ron Finley marched the same 3 miles alongside with people from the community of Anacostia, a food desert located in Washington D.C. This march wasn’t made to protest, but to show people how they can stop marching for fresh food: by growing their own vegetables. In front of the Federal Reserve, where money is printed, Ron taught the community how growing your own food is like printing your own money.

So far, the campaign has distributed the equivalent of over 1 million dollars in fresh produce. MasterClass joined the fight and made every bill into a 1-year free subscription voucher on the platform, so everyone could learn gardening from Ron Finley’s class. Schools and communities across the U.S. are using the bills as a starting point for their community gardens and saving money by growing their own fresh food.