Working with local food producers, grocery and retail, restaurants, caterers, distributors, and all facets of the food value chain, the "Feed Phoenix (Arizona) Initiative" helped to mitigate the economic and food insecurity stressors caused by the 2020 - 2021 Pandemic Recession for its residents. Building on the success of this earlier effort, the 2021 "Future of Food in Phoenix Initiative" continues and expands the programs started in 2020 including providing food for COVID-19 impacted individuals and families, while creating jobs, economic opportunities, and strengthening Phoenix's local food network, achieving the goals established in the 2025 Phoenix Food Action Plan; and creating a resilient food system.
Within the Future of Food in Phoenix initiative is a Backyard Food Production Pilot Project that will fund the installation and comparative study of backyard and community gardens using aquaponic plant and fish production, raised beds, and other water conserving growing methods as well as training in their use for 90 residents located in food deserts across the city. With a focus on polyculture and nutrition, the data projected to be gathered include pounds/kg of food produced per ft2/m2, pounds/kg of food produced per kwh of electricity, pounds/kg of food produced per gallon/liter of water used. This project will allow for the evaluation of production costs for the different methods as well as for the evaluation of different business models, savings opportunities and best practices for the sustainable production of food on residential properties within Phoenix's increasingly hot and water scarce environment.