In the beginning, Scottsdale Community College faculty member Danielle Carlock’s sabbatical project was meant to address food insecurity for students. This was to be done through a farmers’ market-style event at SCC, where Carlock would distribute free vegetables and edible plants from the campus food garden.
But when SCC shut down due to COVID in the spring, she had to let go of that plan. Students weren’t on campus. So she instead expanded the other part of the project: the free Maricopa Native Seed Library. Now, Carlock is addressing food insecurity for the whole Valley … sort of.
“My main focus in the seed library is supporting pollinators,” Carlock says, decked out in outdoor gear, speaking near a small, fenced plant at Mesa Community College s Red Mountain campus. If we don’t support the pollinators by conserving the plants that they use, we are not going to have anything to eat.”
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New Restaurant Locations Are Popping Up Everywhere
Regional restaurant chains have recently announced new locations throughout the Valley. The Arizona seafood eatery Angry Crab Shack has opened its 12th location at 6360 South 35th Avenue. The gourmet hot dog eatery Dog Haus revealed this week it’ll be opening Dog Haus Biergarten Tempe at 430 North Scottsdale Road in Tempe’s new Watermark shopping center in early 2021. And in February 2021, Z Tejas Southwestern Grill will throw open the doors to its latest (and third) location at 8300 North Hayden Road, Suite D-101, in Scottsdale in the Mercado del Lago plaza.
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Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
Welcome to Table Scraps, a monthly series on the growing problem of food waste and what some eateries, officials, farms, institutes, and everyday people are doing right. This isn’t a guilt trip, just a way to unpack initiatives attempting to reduce kitchen waste and food loss, as more than 40 percent of all food is wasted in the U.S. We’re exploring backyard composting to city programs, restaurant tips to technology, and anything related to this global issue. Heat up those leftovers, and settle in.
Writing this, I feel like Barbara Stanwyck in 1945’s
Christmas in Connecticut (not the Arnold Schwarzenegger-directed 1992 version). In that delightful holiday comedy, food writer Elizabeth Lane (played by Stanwyck) instructs others how to be the ultimate homemaker during the holidays. Spoiler: She was a fraud not a homemaker but a single gal in a New York City apartment.
A T Oasis Coffee & Tea Shop 4613 East Thomas Road Located just east of 46th Street and Thomas Road, A T Oasis Coffee & Tea Shop serves coffee imported directly from Ethiopian farmers. The A.T. Chai Tea is not to be overlooked, nor is the caramel latte, Cold Brew Toddy, or A.T. Ginger Coffee. This is a friendly, husband-and-wife-owned neighborhood coffee shop where you re also free to browse the retail shelves for African art, gifts, and, of course, plenty of coffee.
Cafe Cultivate 5025 East Washington Street Neighboring Ability360, Cafe Cultivate offers quick liquid options (light and dark roast drip, Americanos and lattes, house-made chai tea) made with locally roasted beans on weekdays till 4 p.m. The menu also features breakfast and lunch items like parfaits, breakfast burritos, sandwiches, salads, and more.