Improving Arizona's local food system with the Good Food Forum & Expo

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Today, farmers, producers and food entrepreneurs from all over Arizona gathered for the 12th annual Local First Arizona's Good Food Forum and Expo in Oro Valley. Their goal is to establish a strong and sustainable food economy not just in southern Arizona, but statewide.

This year’s theme was “Building Arizona’s Resilient Food Future”. Close to 100 vendors were in attendance with about 50 speakers.

Kimber Lanning, founder and CEO'S of Local First Arizona, says Tucson is leading the way in regenerative agriculture.

“Whether or not we’re restoring the soil or growing foods that are less water-intensive," Lanning said. "Making sure that we’re mindful of how we’re growing and what we’re growing, so that we can be resilient into the future.”

The forum highlighted topics like “How to Grow Food in Hotter and Smaller Places”, where growers explained the innovative ways they overcome climate change issues.

“The chefs here in Southern Arizona are leading the way," Lanning said. "We also have our indigenous leaders who are very engaged in desert-adapted crops, they’ve been growing here since millennia, right.”

Reviving the local grain economy is something keynote speaker, Don Guerra, the founder and owner of Barrio Bread and Barrio Grains is trying to do.

“That’s by just connecting, forming a grain cluster, a grain economy with a lot of people involved," Guerra said. "And really just trying to build on that, show the importance of why we are farming in southern Arizona, why we are making this bread for our people.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary, Xochitl Torres Small, presented an outline of the Biden-Harris Administration's effort to improve local food systems at the event. Federal funding opportunities for local food producers and businesses were also announced.

The latest local food products like Barrio Bread’s San Xavier Mission Loaf were showcased at the expo.