Small, independent businesses make cookies with mesquite pod flour. Large candy factories sell chocolate handcuffs. When it comes to Valentine’s Day treats in the Grand Canyon State, why not buy locally produced treats? Americans will purchase about 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate this February, according to the National Confectioners Association. There is no need…
Every time produce is scanned at the checkout line at the supermarket, a vote is cast. Whether you know it or not, that newly bought and mass-produced selection represents your vote for the big chain’s lower prices over local farmer’s quality assurance. This, according to Laurie Slater, employee at Tonopah Rob’s Vegetable Farm, is one…
The Sonoran desert is a rich and vibrant ecosystem full of unique plant life to be admired — and eaten. Tucson and Southern Arizona’s native food scene is teeming with life due to businesses such as the St. Philip’s Farmers Market, Food Swap Tucson and the Hopyard Market. But Tucson residents can also take it…
Farmers markets surrounding Tombstone are connecting seasonal local produce with community tables. The land surrounding the town “too tough to die” isn’t a desert wasteland, but is thriving with local produce. Community farmers markets are linking the health, social and economic values of seasonal produce and making them accessible to Tombstone. “People are feeling the…
