Local First Arizona – News Blog
- A Solar Array and a Bridge Loan Build Resiliency for a Flagstaff Farm January 21, 2026Forestdale Farm, a Flagstaff-based regenerative farm, is reducing energy costs and strengthening long-term resilience by installing a solar array with support from Local First Arizona. Through the Green Business Boot Camp, a federal REAP grant and a low-interest bridge loan, farm owner Rylan Morton-Starner is replacing costly generator fuel with clean energy — lowering expenses, […]Kat Meyer
- How A We Rise Demo Day Winner Is Supporting Arizona’s Healthcare Pipeline January 21, 2026After nearly two decades as an EEG technologist, Agnes Adams understood Arizona’s healthcare workforce gaps from the inside. Essential roles were understaffed, and for many women — particularly women of color — the pathway into healthcare careers was limited. In 2021, Adams and her business partner, Miss Gigi, launched the Yond Institute of Learning, a […]Kat Meyer
- Markets That Only Look Free: Amazon and Wal-Mart January 16, 2026In the first installments of this series, we explored increasing consolidation and how it has reshaped the food system and why it matters so deeply in Arizona. But food is only one place where this pattern shows itself. The same forces that determine what ends up on our plates also shape where we shop, what […]Alyssa Crijns
- A Consolidated Food System: Built for Scale, Not Fairness or Flavor January 9, 2026In the first part of this series, we explored how consolidation has shaped daily life in Arizona, from the cost of groceries to the loss of local news. Nowhere, however, is consolidation more visible than in the food on our plates. The food system reveals the pattern in its clearest form because every step — […]Alyssa Crijns
- Keeping Arizona Beautiful: What’s Ahead in 2026 — and Why It Matters January 9, 2026Arizona’s landscapes tell our story — from desert trails and riverbanks to neighborhood parks and small-town main streets. Keeping those places clean, healthy and accessible doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because communities show up to help clean up. That’s where Keep Arizona Beautiful comes in.Kat Meyer