Who: Everyone welcome!

What: Tours of a 10-acre production and education farm

When: Monday, February 22, 2010
Farm Stand Hours: 3:00 to 6:00 PM
Farm Tours: 3:00 to 5:00 PM

Where: Community Food Bank’s Marana Heritage Farm at
12375 N. Heritage Park Drive (Tangerine Exit off I-10)

Admission: Free and open to the public

The Marana Heritage Farm Stand’s tours will cover the 10 acres of food producing fields, an “edible forest,” a passive water catchment system, composting, a chicken coop, a cob oven, and the Children’s Garden. Community members will learn about the local food system by seeing the connection between the Marana Heritage Farm and the fresh fruits and vegetables they can purchase at the Farm Stand.

The Marana Heritage Farm is a partnership between the Community Food Bank, the Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Department and many community members. Produce grown at the Marana Heritage Farm is sold at the Marana Farm Stand, the Community Food Bank Farmers’ Market, and the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market.

Local produce selections at the Farm Stand include citrus, salad and cooking greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, cabbage, potatoes, green onions, apples, fresh eggs and much more.

All the Markets including the Farm Stand accept credit and debit cards, SNAP (food stamps), cash, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Cash Value Vouchers for fruits and vegetables.

For more information, contact Sara Rickard at (520) 622-0525 x 242.

Many people are allergic to wheat and are looking for alternative baking options.  The Marana Heritage Farm will schedule a Mesquite Cookie Baking Workshop on Saturday, January 9, 2010 from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM to learn about mesquite flour as an alternative.

If you are allergic to wheat, or curious about the taste of mesquite flour, sign up for this workshop and learn about gluten free grains that are great for baking and how they may be healthy for you.

The Marana Heritage Farm is located at 12375 Heritage Park Drive (Exit 240 off I-10, West on Tangerine Road).

For more information and to register contact Maggie Barnes at (520) 468-1416. Hurry; space is limited.

Contact people:
Debbie Weingarten: Youth Coordinator
Shanti Sellz: Apprenticeship Coordinator
Phone: (520) 873-7401

The 10 acre Marana Heritage Farm includes a 1/3 acre Youth Farm. This space houses the Youth Farm Project, a program where young people are given the opportunity to develop a relationship with the food they eat and to consider how what they eat affects their health, community, and the planet. The Youth Farm Project hires Apprentices and Crew Leaders ages 15-20 and Interns ages 17-24 to work at the Marana Heritage Farm, learn techniques in sustainable agriculture, begin to explore their role in our current food system, and to help grow food for our community. The Youth Farm Project also hosts school groups, youth groups, families, and individuals, who want to learn and participate in farm activities. We offer volunteer days, Farm to Table focused curriculum based on state standards, and farm tours. Volunteer activities may include planting, watering, harvesting, weeding, poultry care, greenhouse production, structure maintenance, and natural building.

For more information and applications:

Youth Apprentice Fact Sheet and Application

Crew Leader Fact Sheet and Application

Farm Intern Fact Sheet and Application

Brighter is better!  More is Motivating!

Zach’s Holiday House is geared up once again this year to assist the Marana Food Bank and drive for even more canned food and non perishables than in past years.

After 3 ½ weeks of fun designing and lifting the lights into place, the huge undertaking of nearly 50,000 lights fire up the Northwest Linda Vista neighborhood.  Zach Tarbet, a sophomore at the U of A, has added to his displays this year with dancing musical lights and higher more dense Christmas lights.

Zach figured out that he has used approximately 350 feet of PVC pipe, 850 screws, tens of thousands of new lights, 35 power cords and half of the total power coming into the house used to power up the brightest display in the Northwest!  “We want to give a little more to the community this year when times seem tougher for everyone”.  “The fun of the Holiday display is the little kids’ reactions and smile and it benefits the Marana Food Bank.” “ Please come by and fill the bins with canned food for the Food Bank”.

Zach’s Holiday house is located at:

2848 West Ribera Place.
1 mile north of Overton Road on Shannon Road.  Follow the glow!  The lights go on at dark and stay on until 10:00 pm nightly.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will visit the Marana Community Food Bank on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 to challenge Mayor Ed Honea to see which office can collect the most food donations.  Congresswoman Giffords will arrive at 10:45 AM for the weigh-in of the food collected and a tour of the Marana Community Food Bank.

The Marana Community Food Bank is located at 11734 West Grier Road in Marana.

Congresswoman Giffords and Mayor Honea will be greeted by Carol McGorray, Chair of the Marana Community Food Bank Advisory Board and Bill Carnegie President/CEO of the Community Food Bank.  Following a brief program, Cecilia Muñoz, Executive Director of the Marana Community Food Bank will conduct Congresswoman Giffords and Mayor Honea on a tour of the Food Bank.

For more information, contact Cecilia Muñoz at (520) 682-3001.

Bring your donations in while your 4 legged babies trick or treat!

Click to view larger:

Read to Feed Marana is a fundraising effort of the Marana Weekly News, the Marana Food Bank, the Marana Rotary Club, and many local business sponsors.

We are looking for donations of used books so that we can hold 2 used books fairs. The money generated from these fairs will be donated to the Marana Food Bank.

The first used book fair will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at A Lotta Storage.

Please help support this great need by dropping your used books to any of the following businesses:

• National Bank of
  Arizona
  11853 W. Marana Rd.
• Integrity Automotive
  6621 N. Thornydale
• A Lotta Storage
  7651 N. I-10 EB
  Frontage Rd.
• Marana Food Bank
  11734 W. Grier Rd.
• Marana Unified
  School District
  11279 W. Grier Rd.

This is an easy way to help the Marana Food Bank and give back to the community. The Marana Food Bank would be unable to operate without the generosity of our community.
For more information on how to get involved, call Jenna Bartlett at 578-1505.

Click to Printable Flier

August 14, 2009
click the golf ball for sponsorship & registration form

Title Sponsor: D.L. Withers

Lunch provided by:
Creative Catering, watermelon summer salad
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, smoked chicken breast, polish sausage, potato salad and barbecue beans
Luke’s Italian Sandwiches, Italian sub sandwiches
Mimi’s Cafe, muffins
Papa Murphy’s, variety of pizza
Roma Caffe, dessert selection
Texas Roadhouse, pulled pork sandwiches and sides
Vero Amore Pizza salads and Paninis.