It has been a while and so we wanted to check in and thank you for your support for Sun Produce Co-op and provide some updates! (We have been busy!)
New members: The co-op is pleased to welcome new Buyer members Coldwater Coffee and Bakery and the Pig and the Peanut!
Food to Arizona Food Banks: for 6 weeks in May and June the co-op and the farms it serves had the privilege of providing more than $97,000 worth of fresh local produce to the AZ Food Bank Network through their Friends of the Farm Program to get on the tables of hungry people! This helps move our local food system towards increasing healthy local food access for vulnerable children and adults while supporting smaller-acreage farms and building strong communities!
Farm bags for Seniors: in conjunction with Activate Food Arizona / Farm Express by the Discovery Triangle – the co-op has been providing food for this organization to deliver to senior citizens throughout the valley. They have created a senior farm bag program and once a month, through a further partnership with Pinnacle Prevention’s Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, provide fresh and local food to low-income seniors. Bags are being packed by Unlimited Potential!
Farm Bag Program: The co-op is pleased to welcome a new partnership with Banner Health Center – Farm Fresh at BUMCP! The Family Medicine Department Foundation Fund is hosting a farm fresh produce initiative. This project will provide free baskets of fresh, local produce to patients at Banner University Medical Center – Phoenix who are insured via Medicaid. Produce baskets will also be available for purchase for all Banner staff, employees, residents, and fellows. They hope to emphasize the importance of healthy eating and supporting local farmers by offering this program to the community! Bags are being packed by Unlimited Potential!
In addition, the co-op is supplying food to Desert Mission Food Bank for their farm bag program sponsored by Mercy Care. And our farm bag subscription programs are up to 6 -for a total of about 200 subscribers. They include Rover Farm Fresh, Creighton Community Foundation, Escalante Community Garden, Clark Park Community Garden, Concordia Charter School and Tracy Dempsey Originals. For more info please visit – https://www.sunproducecoop.org/select-your-pick-up-site/
New farmers: The co-op welcomed the following new farmers as well over the past few months, including Dwight Bond Farms, Mesa; Dennis Hudson, Maricopa; LEHR Innovations, Tempe; Vilardi Gardens, Phoenix, and several growers participating in Spaces of Opportunity Community Garden and Farm – Project Roots, Isam Farms, and Jesus Najera Rueda!
New Buyers include Brick House Bakers, Lotus Evolution Spa and Juicery, Pig and the Peanut, Amadio Ranch, Sonoran Farmers Market, Garden of Feedin’ and Arcosanti Café.
Stay tuned for how you can support our member farms who are making land transitions and the Maricopa County Farmland Preservation Coalition:
Blue Sky Organic Farms
Pinnacle Farms
Maya’s Farm
And check out the Recipe page on this website – some inspiring ways to use your local bounty from the farms, complete with nutrition info and adjustable recipe sizes!
Wishing you all good health!
Cindy Gentry
President
Give Your Family the Gift of Health – Get a Farm Bag
Sun Produce Cooperative (SPC) is a multi-stakeholder agricultural and marketing organization that includes agricultural producers, distributors, buyers and market specialists.
