E33: Arizona Food Systems and COVID-19

COVID-19’s effects on our communities are statewide, systemic, and extend far beyond healthcare or jobs. In fact, it is exposing and exacerbating the challenges our communities face when it comes to food. The running joke may have been about toilet paper early on the pandemic, but places like Ajo and the Navajo Nation literally faced empty store shelves and no food for days and weeks. It shouldn’t ever be this way, which is why the women you’re about to meet have been working for years to build stronger local food systems across Arizona – and why they’re working even harder at the moment. Our three guests today are passionate individuals who spend as much time on the land itself as they do pushing for policies, systems, and environmental changes that are crucial to ensuring equitable, local access to healthy, affordable foods. Last week, we promised you an important episode with plenty to chew on. Well, get ready, because we’ve got it right here.

Note: Two of our guests live in rural and tribal areas, connecting via Skype and cellphone with some sound quality issues. It's an example of how quality broadband internet availability is another form of inequity in Arizona that needs to be addressed. 

To learn more and support Arizona Food Systems: 

• Pinnacle Prevention and COVID-19 Food System Resources
• Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• Coffee Pot Farms
• Arizona Agricultural Training Network
• On Facebook: @pinnacleprevention, @AjoCSA, @CoffeePotFarms
• On Twitter: @PinnaclePrevent