From a sprout of an idea to a flourishing hub of community engagement, Tucson Village Farm has grown to become a vital resource for health and education as it approaches its 15th anniversary. 

Tucson Village Farm is a working urban farm and program of the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. It facilitates a seed-to-table program aimed to help young people reconnect and build healthy relationships with the food system through hands-on activities. 

Founder and program coordinator Leza Carter got the idea for the farm while working with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe as an education coordinator.

“When I was there, I really started to see the impact of kids outside with their hands in the dirt and with a shovel,” she told Tucson Spotlight during a recent visit to the farm. “And how it could benefit them to be outside in nature.”

With an idea in mind and a small supply of farming tools, she went out in search of the perfect place. Along the way, she was introduced to Elizabeth Sparks, who now works as the 4-H Youth Development Associate Agent for the farm. 

“I brought the growing expertise and Liz brought the program development and youth development expertise,” she said. “Together, we created Tucson Village Farm.” 

Workers broke ground on the farm on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2010, with a handful of volunteers, tools from their homes and some donated seeds.

The Farm hosted its first camp later that year, with a small group of kids signing up for the inaugural season.

As the farm grew, so did the kids, who progressed from campers to counselors to AmeriCorps members and eventually University of Arizona student workers. As AmeriCorps members, they planned and hosted the very same camp they’d attended when they were six years old.

“The farm grew them up and offered them a sense of belonging,” Carter said, becoming emotional as she talked about the original group of kids. “This is their happy place and it’s the place where they can thrive and be leaders. All the good things we want for our kiddos.”

In 2012, Carter and Sparks started a healthy living 4-H club and had just six kids signed up. But in 2023, 200 kids signed up for the very same club.

TVF holds Midweek Markets every Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at their “Big Farm,” located at 2201 East Roger Road. During the spring season, the nonprofit farm offers a “U-Pick” program where community members can harvest their own vegetables. 

“We have incredible community support,” Carter said. “People come out in droves every time we do an event.”

Part of TVF’s mission is to foster healthy lifestyles and sustainability in young people. They do this by offering internships, independent study programs and directed research opportunities for students. 

“My favorite part is interacting with customers that come here at the market,” said University of Arizona student Caroline Hunsberger, who is majoring in nutrition and interning at the farm this semester. 

TVF has a staff of 13, and gets some additional help from interns and AmeriCorps members.

“Most of our team has been with us since the beginning and it is a labor of love because no one is getting rich through this job,” Carter said.

The farm was recently awarded a five-year U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to fund a new wellness program called “FARMacy”. This program is designed to support families and children at the greatest risk of developing diet-related conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.  

And this past year, the farm’s staff has been working towards another big fundraising goal that will bring livestock to the property and hopefully allow for the expansion of the internship program, additional water harvesting features and the addition of more solar panels.

 “We raised enough money to build our animal education center (which is) in the design phase right now,” said Carter. “We’re hoping to reveal that around January 2025 and celebrate our 15th that way.” 

McKenna Manzo is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at mckennamanzo@arizona.edu.