Flagstaff Foodlink and Hermosa Vida Invite You to Participate at the Izabel Community Garden

North Country HealthCare and Flagstaff Foodlink would like to announce the availability of garden plots at the Izabel Community Garden located in Flagstaff’s Sunnyside Neighborhood.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to grow your own fruits and vegetables? Right now is a great time to kick-off the growing season in Flagstaff. Garden plots at the Izabel garden range from $30-$45 for the year. Gardeners will receive access to water, a tool shed, seeds, and advice from a garden coordinator. The garden is also a great place to socialize with other community members. Financial assistance will be provided to community members that are interested by a project called “A Beautiful Life – Hermosa Vida – Nónizhí Iiná”, the project promotes healthy lifestyles in recognition that a healthy life is a beautiful life.

Flagstaff Foodlink offers strong educational, organizational and fundraising tools to the exciting, emergent local food movement in the greater Flagstaff community.  Our country is in the midst of a health and healthcare crisis, global climate change, and an economic and energy crisis.  Producing local, healthy, affordable food for ourselves and our children is a powerful solution for all of these dilemmas.  Flagstaff Foodlink believes there are abundant opportunities to connect farmers, ranchers, restaurateurs, food distributors and sellers, the general public, community organizations, and the governments of the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County into a food network to encourage local economic self-sufficiency, community and individual health, greater food security, and energy-conserving agricultural practices.  Flagstaff Foodlink offers an organizational body through which to catalyze profound change in the way we produce, consume, and value local foods here in Flagstaff

Hermosa Vida is a project that engaged community members in a planning process to identify and address issues regarding health determinants. While gathering information for this project we learned that Sunnyside residents clearly understand what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle but also understand there are barriers. Hermosa Vida provides opportunities for overcoming these barriers.

Over the next 2 years Hermosa Vida will increase access to nutritious food and recreational opportunities in Flagstaff’s Sunnyside.

“A Beautiful Life” project partners include North Country HealthCare, The Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, Flagstaff Medical Center’s Fit Kids of Arizona, NAU’s Department of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Health Research Institute,  Flagstaff Unified School District, City of Flagstaff Recreation, Coconino County Public Health Services District, Flagstaff Foodlink , Flagstaff Community Supported Agriculture, Family and Community Teaming for Students (F.A.C.T.S) and Arizona Nutrition Network. The 3 year project is funded by a grant received from the Kresge Foundation.

To purchase a plot at the Izabel garden please contact Cara Corbin by e-mail, carabeanqueen@yahoo.com, or by phone, 479.871.3999

The project partners appreciate the public’s interest and participation in the project.. For more information about “A Beautiful Life”, contact Julio Quezada by email, jquezada@northcountryhealtchare.org; by mail, 2304 North Third Street, Flagstaff AZ 86004; by fax, 928-213-5460; or by phone, 928-525-6060.