“The Story of Arizona’s Good Food,” a feature-length documentary produced by Local First Arizona premiered at 8 p.m. on Monday, November 25 on Arizona PBS.
Now, here in Tucson, we don’t get that channel since we have our own local PBS station — Arizona Public Media (ASPM) — but it’s now available to watch on YouTube.
“This film is a love letter to our local farmers,” said Somlynn Rorie, producer and co-director of the film. “They face many challenges from a changing climate to the increasing loss of farmland that pose a real threat to the future of accessible and affordable food. The project was a way to bring this conversation to the masses. We wanted people to meet our farmers and learn how to support them.”
The documentary covers an indoor mushroom farm, foraging for edible plants in the Sonoran desert, generations-old Indigenous traditions, and the younger generation making their mark. You’ll also learn about the obstacles facing the “people who feed our state.”
The film involves more than 20 interviews including conversations with Barbara Eiswerth of Iskashitaa Refugee Network. The network is best known for its harvesting initiative, where volunteers and refugees work together to collect more than 100,000 pounds of surplus fruit, vegetables, and nuts annually from local trees, orchards, and farms.
Featured in the Documentary:
- Rodney Machokoto and family, Machokoto Farms
- Spaces of Opportunity
- Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson
- Stephen Jones, The Larder and the Delta
- Justin Beckett, Beckett’s Table
- Sara Dolan and David Vose, Blue Sky Farms
- Kathleen Yetman, Prescott Farmers Market
- Joseph Schaffer, Schaffer Farm
- Juan Aguiar Bravo and Keeton Aguiar, Blooming Reed Farm
- Bill Kerr, Kerr Family Dairy Farm – United Dairymen of Arizona
- Michael Crowe, Southwest Mushrooms
- Arnott Duncan, Duncan Family Farms
- Maria Parra Cano, Food Forest Cooperative and Sana Sana Foods
- Twila Cassadore
- Amelia Flores, CRIT Chairwoman
- Jason Reed, Tory Wilson, United Food Bank
- Barbara Eiswerth, Iskashitaa Refugee Network
- Jillian Robinson, Abdelgabar Mohamdian, New Roots at IRC
- Telena Jade Youvella, Rachel Noline San Carlos Apache Tribe Members
- Gabriel Cruz, Cruz Farm
Watch the Documentary Below
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Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
