TCOG Reveals 2025 Food Hero Award Winners

Tucson City of Gastronomy honored the 2025 Food Heroes on Oct. 18 during the Tucson Meet Yourself folklife festival. The awards recognized educators, chefs, and community leaders preserving and innovating Southern Arizona’s food culture.

About the Food Hero Awards

The Si Charro! Food Visionary Award, sponsored by Carlotta Flores and the Si Charro! family, celebrates individuals or groups creatively reimagining relationships with food. It honors efforts that forge inclusive, sustainable pathways toward a positive food future.

This year’s focus centered on school and community gardens that demonstrate sustainable growing, traditional knowledge, youth engagement, and community sharing. Projects must operate for at least five years and show a record of sustainability. The first- and second-place winners received $1,500 and $500, respectively, and will be featured on the TCOG website and at community events.

The Jim Griffith Foodways Keeper Award, sponsored by the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center and presented in partnership with the Southwest Folklife Alliance, honors home cooks and artisans who sustain regional food traditions. The award commemorates Dr. Jim Griffith, a folklorist and anthropologist who celebrated the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands’ cultural heritage. Top honorees receive $500 to $1,500 each.

Julián Barceló Wins Si Charro! Food Visionary Award

First-grade teacher Julián Barceló of Davis Bilingual Magnet School earned first place in the Si Charro! Food Visionary Award. He revived the school’s garden into a hands-on classroom rooted in Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui agricultural traditions.

His students grow the “Three Sisters” crops of corn, beans, and squash, harvest mesquite pods, and bake in traditional hornos. The program strengthens community ties through weekly recipe-sharing events and youth engagement.

Dr. Barbara Eiswerth, founder of Iskashitaa Refugee Network, earned second place. She leads a network of community gardens and fruit rescue projects that blend Indigenous and refugee farming practices to support food security and cultural sharing.

John Slattery and Carolyn Niethammer Named Foodways Keepers

The Jim Griffith Foodways Keeper Award recognized two Tucson icons who sustain Borderlands food traditions.

Ethnobotanist and author John Slattery teaches about wild foods and herbal medicine through workshops, foraging tours, and his “Southwest Foraging” book. His Sonoran Herbalist Apprenticeship Program and Desert Tortoise Botanicals blog inspire people to connect with native plants.

Carolyn Niethammer, author of Cooking the Wild Southwest and A Desert Feast: Celebrating Tucson’s Culinary Heritage, has documented and shared Sonoran food traditions for more than 50 years. Her cookbooks and demonstrations have introduced thousands to ingredients like prickly pear, cholla buds, and tepary beans.

A Celebration of Tradition and Innovation

“These honorees inspire us all,” said TCOG board member Marty McCune. “Their work reflects Tucson’s identity as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, promoting a deep respect for food, culture, and community. Through their efforts, our region’s food heritage and food future are in good hands.”

“Our Food Hero Awards shine a light on individuals who keep Tucson’s unique foodways thriving,” said TCOG executive director Jonathan Mabry. “Their dedication shows how tradition and innovation, rooted in place, are essential ingredients for a resilient food future.”

Learn more about Tucson City of Gastronomy and the winners at cityofgastronomy.org. For more on a local food program, read about UA’s School Garden Workshop.