El Mes de la Herencia Hispana se celebra entre el 15 de septiembre y 15 de octubre porque celebran su independencia países hispanos como Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, México y Chile. Durante este mes se hace honor a las personas de origen hispano en Estados Unidos, festejando el 12 de octubre el Día de la Hispanidad.

Es por ello que contaremos la historia de dos representantes hispanos, graduados del programa Acelerador de Negocios de Fuerza Local y líderes en la comunidad de Sur Phoenix, Arizona.

Carlos Castillo originario de Indaparapeo, Michoacán y Erika Castillo originaria de Los Ángeles, California, con 8 años de casados dejaron sus profesiones para no solo ser dueños de su restaurante sino también para poder ayudar a su comunidad y generar empleos en Arizona con Chino-Mex, un restaurante con un encuentro de culturas gastronómicas muy especial.

Local First has a comprehensive and easy-to-use directory not only for local businesses but also for farms, community-supported agriculture (CSA) and all things food. It’s important to shop local and support your community and this directory makes it simple.

Food and farming are more than just growing and selling produce; the fall film series addresses how Arizona farms are helping families and overcoming injustice in the system.

The overall goal of the Tribal Food Sovereignty Series is to provide a space for ongoing conversations that encourage exchange between food partners and tribal food practitioners and enhance networks and collaborations for improved coordination and stronger regional and inclusive food systems.

This summer has brought a much-needed monsoon season to quench our parched ecosystems and communities across the state. Luckily, more and more businesses across the state have made conserving water and other sustainable practices a part of the way they do business. This month, three new businesses have become certified through the Arizona Green Business Program. Steady Glow Digital, Ivan Martinez Photography, and The Nile Theater + Coffee Shop.

Due to their dedication to support the San Carlos Apache community, NDC has been a close partner with United Food Bank, distributing hundreds of food boxes to San Carlos families in need during the pandemic. Local First Arizona’s Good Food Film Series captured this partnership in the ‘Farm to Food Bank’ film released in May. The film is accessible through February 2022, so don’t miss your chance to watch it!

We are also gearing up for a second volunteer engagement for our LFA staff - NDC’s first fall fair this October. This will be a family-friendly event and will feature a film screening, farmers & artisans market, Apache food cooking demonstrations, live art, and a fashion show. There will also be plenty of youth activities, including a pumpkin patch and carving station, beading, and archery. We will celebrate NDC’s hard work this year and honor the food traditions and resilience of the San Carlos Apache community.

The Local First Arizona Sustainability team is now accepting applications for the next four cohorts starting in September 2021, November 2021, January 2022, and March 2022 from businesses and nonprofits seeking to develop the knowledge and skills to implement a sustainability project that reduces their impact, benefits their community, and gets them recognized for building a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable local economy in Arizona.

Last month, LFA held the first of a series of three workshops designed exclusively for Verde Grown vendors. These are capacity-building events free to those registered as a Verde Grown member. We now have 39 local businesses in Verde Grown and the list keeps growing! This first workshop provided information on how to best take advantage of Verde Grown as a regional marketing initiative and get more exposure for their businesses. We also reviewed the success of the digital campaign in engaging local and statewide audiences online. Lastly, we ended the event with a speed networking activity to help facilitate new connections and encourage Verde Grown vendors to leverage each other for new business opportunities. This was a wildly popular activity and well-attended event.

In the Summer of 2020, the Sky Islands Tourism Alliance reached out to Local First Arizona for assistance in creating better collaboration amongst the hospitality and tourism businesses in the region. To address these challenges, five potential solutions were presented to the group with interest arising in the creation of a Local First Arizona Small Wonders Map.

The State of Arizona has launched the Back to Work Small Business Hiring and Retention Program. This $5 million program is designed to assist small, locally owned or operated businesses hire and retain employees; the program also has a special focus on businesses that have been affected by the recent wildfires and flooding.

Earlier this month, nearly 220 rural stakeholders, leaders, and advocates convened for the 14th Annual Rural Policy Forum, hosted by the Arizona Rural Development Council (AZRDC). Representatives from all 15 counties traversed the state for the two-day conference in the Sahuarita and the Green Valley area, eager to seek new solutions for building resilient, more inclusive rural economies across Arizona.

The first-ever cohort of the YWCA Green Business Program will be wrapping up in September! Through LFA Sustainability’s partnership with the Women’s Business Center and the YWCA of Southern Arizona, several Tucson businesses have had the opportunity to receive one-on-one support for all their sustainability and business planning needs. The YWCA and LFA Sustainability along with the Tucson Mayor's Office will host a graduation event on September 9th to recognize these businesses for their green leadership.

Natural buildings are becoming a popular alternative to traditional construction. Local First Arizona sat down with a diverse group of local experts and professionals to get an in-depth perspective.

Aken Online Marketing es una empresa de Arizona y miembro de Fuerza Local dedicada a ofrecer servicios de marketing, redes sociales, fotografía y video profesional en todo el valle que abrió sus puertas en marzo de 2015.

Aken Online Marketing nació de conocer las grandes necesidades de manejar correctamente los negocios a través de las redes sociales y volverla una herramienta más rentable para la comunidad hispana, y de esta forma eliminar el rezago en comparación con otras comunidades en Arizona.

Urban heat, water supply, environmental injustice, and clean energy are just a few of Arizona’s unique environmental challenges that will be explored in Project Greenprint, a new video series from Social Television Network (stnTV) in partnership with LFA Sustainability.

Now in its second year, Scale Up is accepting early applications from businesses and nonprofits seeking to develop the knowledge and skills to implement a sustainability project that reduces their impact, benefits their community, and gets them recognized for building a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable economy in Arizona.

Our We Rise family is growing! We are honored to introduce the second cohort of the We Rise business accelerator program. We’ve jumped from 12 to 21 participants and we can not be more excited to learn more about these incredible entrepreneurs and their businesses. From events management to art and consulting, come meet the wide variety of businesses coming into the program.

This is the introduction to a three-part series that takes a deep dive into the world of Natural Building. We explore what makes a natural building, ways that natural buildings can have a profound and lasting impact on human well-being and the environment, and how natural building may hold the key to sustaining healthy and resilient communities here in Arizona.

As the Valley's water conservation campaign, Water – Use It Wisely reminds you that July is typically the month of peak water demand for landscapes in Arizona. The following tips can help you save money, save water and see better results.