His new book Street Farm: Growing Food, Jobs and Hope on the Urban Frontier (Chelsea Green Publishing, US $29.95) recounts that bumpy journey.

Joking that Funny Farm wasn't the best title, Driver settled on Fun on the Farm. As work began compiling stories for the book, Al was diagnosed with cancer.

Sole Food Street Farms in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is an area almost entirely inhabited by folks who are dealing with long-term addiction, mental illness and poverty, says Ableman, who co ...