What is a Community Food System?

A community food system is a network of processes that brings the food you eat from the farm to your plate (and beyond!). This system is composed of food producers, processors, distributors, retailers, and consumers -- everyone who creates, transports, or eats food plays an important role. This system shapes the way we live, how we eat, and how we are able to support members of our community. 

Source: Diagram courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Community Food Systems (fsn.usda.gov).

What is Urban Agriculture?

Urban Agriculture is the practice of growing, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas, and it is one of the City of Tempe's strategies to create a more sustainable food system. "Urban agriculture" can mean many different things -- urban farms, community gardens, food forests, school gardens, farmers' markets (and more!) are all types of urban agriculture. Click here to learn more about the different types of urban agriculture. 

Urban agriculture makes our community food system more equitable and resilient by increasing residents' access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food in their neighborhoods. The City of Tempe is working to advance food access and community well-being by developing new urban agriculture projects in schools, public spaces, and residential areas.  

What is Grow Local Tempe?

Grow Local Tempe is an initiative to expand access to healthy, affordable food by developing new urban agriculture projects. This initiative aims to empower Tempe residents to shape the city's food system so that it better supports their food access and education needs. 

The Grow Local Tempe initiative involves: 

• Assessing the current state of Tempe's food system by mapping existing food projects, like school gardens, community gardens, and seed libraries. Click here to explore the Tempe Food Asset Map.
  • You can add or update projects, or report bugs
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• Identifying community food needs by hosting workshops for Tempe residents to discuss food access, education, and urban agriculture models. Click here to review the findings of the Community Food Needs Assessment. 
• Developing plans for new urban agriculture initiatives, starting with five neighborhood pilot projects in Northeast Tempe. Click here to review the posters from the January Community Food Showcase, which outline each proposed pilot project.