American Rescue Plan Act
Strategic Plan
Phoenix Resilient Food System
Throughout the past year, the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) helped create one of the City’s most successful programs, Feed Phoenix Food Program. The funding allocation from the Phoenix Resilient Food System builds on the success of the Feed Phoenix Food Program by developing more sustainable food options for Phoenix residents. This program also includes funding that will provide resources to local and neighborhood food banks and food kitchens.
Explore Programs
Economic Development and Innovation
This portion of the Phoenix Food Initiative includes the following programs:
• Feed Phoenix Program – This program is a continuation of the CRF funded Feed Phoenix Program. Under this program, the Local First Arizona Foundation delivered over 80,000 meals.
• Worker Cooperative Sustainable Food System Business Incubator – This program will focus on developing worker cooperatives for sustainable food business enterprises through a collaboration with the private sector.
• Agri-Food Technology Grants – This program will provide funding and incentives to encourage food system entrepreneurs and innovative food businesses to expand or locate in Phoenix.
Equity and Inclusion
This portion of the Phoenix Food Initiative includes the following programs:
• LISC Phoenix Funds to Feed Phoenix – This program is a continuation of the CRF funded program that provides funding for community and grassroots organizations.
• Urban Agriculture Fellowship – Provide funding for a one-year fellowship for high school and college age students with local food producers with 60% for Black, Indigenous, and persons of color participants.
• Council District Food Action Plans or Initiatives – The program would focus on districts with food deserts, high food insecurity and hunger rates to identify whether a council specific food plan would be feasible and desired or whether more specific projects or initiatives would be preferred.
Local Food Consumption/ Production
This portion of the Phoenix Food Initiative includes the following programs:
• Farmland Preservation – In partnership with nonprofits and land trusts, assist in the purchase and preservation of up 100 acres of land for agriculture in Phoenix.
• Backyard Food Production Pilot – Provide grant funding to 100 residents located in food deserts for backyard gardens and community gardens using aquaponics, raised beds, and other water conservative growing methods.
Food Banks and Pantries Support
This funding will be used to provide resources for local food banks and food pantries to provide food and other resources for struggling families. Staff will ensure broad engagement with small, medium and large foodbanks and pantries ensuring outreach and emphasis with smaller community-based food banks and food pantries.
Meals that Work
The Meals that Work program prepares and delivers 1,000 meals per week for 26 weeks to six social service organizations including: St. Vincent de Paul, Trinity United Methodist Church, Paideia Academies Inc., Christ Lutheran Church, Calvary United Methodist Church, and Housing for Hope Rosewood Court.
Resilient Food System
This portion of the Phoenix Food Initiative includes the following program:
• Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Projects – Provide grant funding to farms for advancing technologies and methods that address growing food in our changing climate.
Outreach and Support Staff
This funding will be used provide advertising and outreach efforts to ensure funding allocated under this program is fully maximized. Funding would be used to sponsor community events, stakeholder meetings, and to produce digital and print advertisements. Funding would also be used to hire two full-time positions for the next two fiscal years. These positions will manage and monitor all of the activities in the Phoenix Sustainable Food Initiative.