
These organizations and others work to fill gaps and advance their community’s food system, but each faces similar challenges throughout their work. Each organization featured in the report advocates for a statewide network of collaboration to address many of these challenges, and also enhance success.
“By creating a network of networks that shares a vision, collective objectives, and common data,” the report says, “the local organizations will see where they fit in the big picture, where activities align, and how to build and learn from one another.”
“We are far enough along in Arizona in our food system evolution that we are ready for this type of conversation,” Flagstaff Foodlink advisor Liz Taylor said. “We have enough experience of success and challenge and richness of examples to really benefit from work at a statewide level.”
Read the report to learn more about what the Ajo Regional Food Partnership, Flagstaff Foodlink, Maricopa County Food System Coalition, Pima County Food Alliance, Pinal Local Food Project, and Yavapai Food Council are doing to create sustainable and equitable food systems across the state, and what could be accomplished by establishing a collaborative statewide network.
For examples of successful statewide food system networks, check out Dreaming New Mexico, Minnesota Food Charter, and Michigan’s statewide network.