PHOENIX, May 1, 2025 — Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. and Local First Arizona are partnering on a round-up campaign from May 12–31 to raise funds and awareness for Keep Arizona Beautiful, a Local First Arizona initiative driving community cleanups, waste reduction and environmental stewardship across the state.

Phoenix, AZ — April 22, 2026 — Arizona’s independent restaurants have always been more than just places to eat. They are the heartbeats of our neighborhoods, the creative outlets of passionate chefs, and gathering spaces where stories unfold over shared plates. This summer, you are invited to support the Valley’s vibrant dining community by taking part in a unique and meaningful culinary journey: The 2026 Devour Summer Chef Series.

PHOENIX (Mar. 31 2026) — Local First Arizona is now accepting applications for its next virtual Green Business Boot Camp beginning April 21, 2026. The award-winning, seven-week program guides 10 to 15 locally owned businesses and nonprofits through an Arizona-focused sustainability curriculum. Participants leave with a project plan targeting a projected 20% reduction in resource use and emissions.

PHOENIX (March 23, 2026) — Local First Arizona will celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Garden Education Center at Heart & Soil People’s Garden on Tuesday, March 31, at 11 a.m., marking the culmination of a historic $1 million investment from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. The event will bring together Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Paul Brierley, philanthropists Bob and Renee Parsons, State Conservationist for USDA-NRCS Keisha Tatem, and Local First Arizona Founder & CEO Kimber Lanning to honor a milestone year in the making — and a community that made it possible.

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 2, 2026) — Thunderbirds Charities has awarded $90,000 to Local First Arizona to support and expand business education and accelerator programs serving entrepreneurs who face persistent barriers to capital, credit and business training. The funding sustains Local First’s flagship programs, Fuerza Local Acelerador de Negocios, Fuerza Local Nivel Ejecutivo and We Rise, which provide culturally relevant business education, financial literacy and access to fair-market capital for Latino and Black entrepreneurs across Arizona. Since 2017, Thunderbirds Charities has invested more than $620,000 in Local First Arizona’s entrepreneurship programs.

PHOENIX (Jan. 19, 2026) — Local First Arizona will host the 2026 Arizona Good Business Summit in partnership with the Town of Gilbert on Wednesday, Mar. 11, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at HD South, Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum. The event will bring together more than 300 of Arizona’s locally owned business leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers for a one-day gathering focused on connection, collaboration, and strengthening local economies.

PHOENIX Oct. 9, 2025) —  Local First’s Northern Arizona Good Jobs Network (NAGJN) has officially entered its final phase of implementation. Starting in 2022, this regional program developed new training initiatives in the food services, healthcare and social assistance, construction and manufacturing sectors. Now those training programs are open for enrollment with many of them free or discounted, with financial incentives available to employers who use the programs to hire and upskill. NAGJN’s goal is to build a rural workforce ecosystem that connects people to good jobs, creates more local talent pipelines for rural businesses and supports employers in operating by “Good Jobs Principles” to attract and retain skilled workers.

PHOENIX (Oct. 7, 2025) — Local First Arizona announced a partnership with O.H.S.O., the well-established local craft brewery, distillery and restaurant group, to create a limited edition beer to showcase delicious local ingredients and hometown pride. The Sonoran Sipper is a cream ale with hibiscus lime zest featuring a variety of locally sourced ingredients.

Although the USDA cut funding to the Southwest Regional Food Business Center, we were still able to provide three Arizona projects with funding for the first round of the Business Builder Award Program, created to build the capacity of small and mid-sized farms and food businesses.

PHOENIX (Aug. 12, 2025) —  It may still be hot outside, but Local First Arizona is already planning for cooler temperatures with their annual Arizona Fall Festival, presented by Arizona Financial. On Saturday, November 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Margaret T. Hance Park in Downtown Phoenix will be buzzing with more than 250 local vendors, featuring crafts, activities, games and flavors from 70+ local restaurants, breweries and distilleries in the expanded food court and beverage garden.

PHOENIX (July 24, 2025) — Climate change threatens the health and well-being of all Americans, but the effects are felt unevenly. The most vulnerable neighborhoods and communities are often excluded from resilience efforts and the benefits of green investment.  Local First Arizona and the City of Tucson Office of Resilience have partnered with the Urban Institute’s Transformative Climate Action in American Cities (TCA) project to help disrupt the climate status quo in Tucson.

PHOENIX (July 18, 2025) — This week, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the termination of 12 Regional Food Business Centers (RFBC), crippling small and mid-sized farmers across the country. As part of the national initiative, the Southwest Regional Food Business Center (SWRFBC) was created to accelerate a resilient, diverse and competitive local and regional food system by improving opportunities for small and mid-size food and farm businesses across a four-state region of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. 

PHOENIX (Jan. 6, 2025) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Southwest Regional Food Business Center announce the launch of the Business Builder Award Program to build the capacity of small and mid-sized farms and food businesses. Today the Center will begin accepting applications in Arizona for grants up to $100,000.

PHOENIX (Nov. 20, 2024) — “The Story of Arizona’s Good Food,” a feature-length documentary produced by Local First Arizona about the importance of family farms to Arizona’s economy and food system, will premiere at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 on Arizona PBS.

“This film is a love letter to our local farmers,” says producer and co-director Somlynn Rorie. “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.”

Local First Arizona’s 17^th annual Devour Culinary Classic, the most anticipated tasting event of the year, will impress even the most refined diners with its luscious eclectic fare Feb. 22-23, 2025.

Desert Botanical Garden and Southern Arizona Arts and Culture Alliance will partner once again with Local First Arizona to assemble a panoply of the most creative and indulgent chefs, sommeliers, cicerones and other food and drink purveyors Arizona has to offer.

Thunderbirds Charities has awarded Local First Arizona $90,000 to support Spanish-speaking and Black entrepreneurs’ success. 

The donation will go toward Local First’s business education programs Fuerza Local, Nivel Ejecutivo and We Rise.

Thunderbirds Charities has invested about $620,000 in the Local First programs since 2017.

PHOENIX (Sept. 1, 2024) —  Mark your calendars and plot your course for Local First Arizona’s 18th annual Fall Festival presented by Arizona Financial Credit Union on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kick off your holiday shopping early with 250+ local vendors and taste and sip goodies from 70+ local restaurants, breweries and distilleries in the expanded food court and beverage garden.