Executive Summary: Roundtable on an Arizona North–South Local Foods Pipeline

Abstract

The development of local food systems across Arizona has progressed unevenly, leaving rural communities and small farmers with significant gaps in market access, wholesale opportunities, and affordable processing infrastructure. While these disparities are well-documented, a lack of coordinated effort and recent reductions in federal and technical support have created a persistent barrier to progress. To address these structural realities, a statewide roundtable was convened on July 22, 2025, to establish a foundation for a "North-South" food pipeline that supports small farmers and improves institutional procurement. The resulting findings emphasize that a mid-supply-chain gap restricts the ability of producers to scale and limits community access to Arizona-grown foods. To overcome these challenges, the report concludes that stakeholders must prioritize three key areas: investment in physical cold-chain infrastructure, the reform of complex institutional procurement policies to include local producers, and the strengthening of stakeholder education and relational transparency.