{"id":685,"date":"2023-07-24T13:21:22","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T20:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox2.gfl.rtd.asu.edu\/?post_type=project&p=685"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:33:43","slug":"arizona-food-systems","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/globalfutures.asu.edu\/food\/project\/arizona-food-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"Uplifting Arizona food systems"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Arizona food systems<\/span><\/h1>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Being based in Arizona, it\u2019s only natural that supporting our home state\u2019s food system is a top priority. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arizona’s food system faces unique challenges due to the state’s arid climate and water scarcity. However, Arizona also presents opportunities for innovative approaches to promote sustainable food production and distribution. The state’s resilient ecosystems and extensive Indigenous knowledge offer great potential for sustainable agriculture and the preservation of biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Swette team members hosting a local field day at Blue Sky Organic Farms.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Uplifting Arizona food systems at the Swette Center<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Urban agriculture research<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The planet is urbanizing and with it, interest in urban agriculture is growing. Our Grow Local Tempe project, funded through a USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grant, was a partnership between the Swette Center and the City of Tempe to enhance sustainable and equitable development through urban agriculture. Presented as an active record of the community\u2019s engaging spirit, preferences, and concerns, our report charts a path forward to continue Tempe and the community\u2019s efforts towards a vibrant and flourishing urban agriculture landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, we worked with a group of graduate students to create and maintain a map referencing local food assets for urban agriculture in the city of Tempe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read the report<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
See the map<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Transition to Organic Partnership Program<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As part of the USDA\u2019s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems is serving as the state lead to support farmers and handlers across Arizona as they transition to organic farming systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a nation-wide collaboration led by the National Organic Program to build programs specifically designed for farmers transitioning to organic practices, including farmer-to-farmer mentorship, technical assistance, workforce development and community building initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visit the AZ TOPP website<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Climate-SMART Agriculture pilot project<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Climate-SMART (Specific Management for Arizona Resilience and Transformation) Agriculture pilot project was a state-wide collaboration to create a program for growers in Arizona to adopt climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. This project arose out of widespread concern about how Arizona has been particularly impacted by climate change, making climate-smart solutions in agriculture a necessary part of our state\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funded by USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities<\/a>, this project was led by the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts and involved 13 project partners across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice: In April 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of this program, with plans to reform it into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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4th Annual Arizona Food Summit<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Featuring 26 speakers and over 200 Arizonans in attendance \u2013 nearly 140 in person \u2013 the Arizona Department of Agriculture and Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems co-hosted the 4th Annual Arizona Food Summit for two days of information sharing and discussion on how best to move forward on creating a sustainable, healthy food system for all Arizonans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The days were packed with speakers from across the food system spectrum. The event opened with US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack emphasizing the need to link food security with nutrition security and to better translate science to help people make informed choices. Vilsack further challenged Arizonans to engage, bring young people into agriculture and food work, support our local farmers and attend to nutrition security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more insights<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Immersive visits and blog highlights<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Each year, we take our graduate students across Arizona for an immersive food and farm experience to learn directly from farmers, ranchers, food processors, hunger relief workers, government officials and food entrepreneurs. The bottom-line lesson of the class: one should never design food policy absent conversations with the people who produce our food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To encourage thoughtful reflection, students are assigned responsibility for writing a short article about one of the meetings during the immersive. These \u201cblogs\u201d are posted on the Swette Center website and shared via social media. Collectively, through these blogs, the students share with the public their new insight into Arizona\u2019s food system and appreciation for all that it takes to put food on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read the blog<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Related research priorities<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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