TEMPE – Connections between the community and local farms flourish with the help of the Arizona Sustainability Alliance Help-A-Farm initiative. On the first Sunday of every month from October to April, volunteers can join AZSA and get involved with the local food system in Phoenix.

The initiative began in 2019 through an ideation session within the organization and has contributed 600 volunteer hours toward local farms, according to the AZSA website. The program partners with two women-owned local farms: Bene Vivendo and Maya’s Farm.

A mutually beneficial relationship between the farms and the volunteers has blossomed through the AZSA program. Participants receive education about the local food system, and the farm owners receive instrumental hands-on help to create a close-knit community and build connections that go beyond just the three hours at the farm.

Julisa Quintero, AZSA operations and volunteer outreach coordinator, said the program can make a difference for people who have not been able to connect with local agriculture.

“A lot of the volunteers that we get have never volunteered or worked at a farm before and don’t really understand the work that goes into running a farm, so it’s always nice to see people come out that haven’t done this before and leave super happy that they did the work and then willing to come back,” Quintero said.

Emily Heller founded Bene Vivendo in 2018. Heller operates the farm primarily by herself with the recent addition of an intern through the U.S. Department of Agriculture NextGen Program.

The additional volunteer helping hands mean more to Heller than just working faster.

“I am so grateful to be on the receiving end of all these beautifully spirited people who believe in this food system and who are willing to act on it by giving their labor and with a smile,” Heller said.

Michele Caporali, Help-A-Farm program coordinator, supports the connection between volunteers and farms during volunteer days. Caporali and Heller have worked closely to help connect the community to agriculture and build support around local farming.

“It is so critical to be involved in food systems in any way that you can,” Caporali said. “This is that step above and beyond of seeing where your food comes from. I love knowing how much we help someone like Emily, who is a single farmer.”

Farming was not Heller’s first career, but third, as she started as a journalist and media spokesperson. She traded her pen for a shovel to complete the Urban Ag Production, Small-Scale Beginner Farmer Program at the University of Arizona in 2015 and 2016. Heller finds the professions are not that different.

“Where you are marshalling, gathering all of your sources and resources to provide something, whether it’s service or food that is consumed locally, that improves the lives of the people who live there, the activity is pretty much the same,” Heller said. “The ingredients are maybe a little bit different. The editor yelling at me is Mother Nature.”

Heller is a “farmer without a farm” as she grows produce on two plots of land she leases in addition to using her home garden. She is growing on land in Chandler and is developing a 1.2-acre piece of land to use in Tempe – both of which are in residential areas.

“The scale is so small, but the power is big,” Heller said about the community that has rallied around local farms.

Small-scale farmers face many challenges that require adaptability and oftentimes creativity to overcome.

“Land access has never been more difficult and so … the need for a sustainable, locally produced food system has never been more important,” Heller said.

“To put locally grown food in people’s tummies is a superpower, and I’m really, really grateful that I get to do that,” Heller said.

Heller grows many varieties of flowers, a staple being hibiscus. The flowers are sold to customers at the Uptown Farmers Market in many different forms, such as fresh ready-to-eat, salt and sugar mixes, teas and decorative bouquets. Heller’s flowers can also be found in restaurant dishes throughout the Valley and a beer recently launched with Arizona Wilderness Brewing.

“The goal is to delight and to nourish people, and I put delight in there, not just nourish because you want it to taste good,” Heller said. “We don’t need flowers in order to live as human beings, but boy, doesn’t it enrich our lives?”

The Bene Vivendo booth can be found at the front entrance of the Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix, where Heller has built many loyal customer connections. She is able to generate interest not just in her products, but also where her products come from.

Customers who shop Heller’s products sometimes want to get more involved through volunteering. Heller promotes the Help-A-Farm volunteer days through her social media to gain even more support for the initiative.

“This is the secret sauce, person-to-person connections,” Heller said. “This is the fuel that is going to make the system work or fail.”