Revitalizing downtown Nogales through the development of local food systems is the focus of the latest effort aimed at sparking new life into the struggling city center.
Mariposa Community Health Center, with the help of a federal assistance program called Local Foods, Local Places, is spearheading the project to reimagine downtown Nogales as a vibrant community hub through initiatives that bring healthy food and physical activity to residents of the downtown area, said Cassalyn David, MCHC’s community-clinic linkages manager, who is leading the program.
The technical assistance program, funded by seven federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the departments of agriculture, transportation, housing and urban development, brought planning and development experts to Nogales last week for a two-day workshop, which included a community forum at the Quality Hotel Americana on Tuesday evening, Aug. 22.
With about 37 people in attendance, community members and leaders from health, community development and nonprofit organizations brainstormed opportunities for growth in Nogales, including building on the local farmers market, improving the bikeability and walkability of the area, and assisting small, food-based businesses that are finding it particularly hard to get established in the struggling local economy, David said.
“We also realized that the challenges and the opportunities are the same things,” she said. “It’s really awful that we have places going out of business and empty store fronts, and there’s nothing good about that. But if we can be optimistic, we can see it as a chance to diversify and open up new opportunities for the community.”
Bringing together different people in the community has already opened new ideas, she added, noting that the Americana used food from local grower Summer Lewton, who runs Dirty Girl Farmette in Patagonia, to make the evening’s dinner.
“It really clicked for some local places here that they could be using some local food in their businesses,” David said, adding that Lewton’s success in selling her products to businesses in Tucson was also encouraging for other local people.
Youth perspective
The most inspiring part of the meeting, however, was hearing from five young bike enthusiasts who shared their perspectives about what was needed to make the community healthy, David said.
The youth represented the perspective of many community members that improving infrastructure for walking and biking downtown is one of the best ways to get people to live healthier lives and increase the sense of community, said Edgardo Muñoz. He leads the 0S3 Movement, a local non-profit that promotes cycling education and healthy living in Nogales, and brought the group of 10-13-year-olds to the meeting.
Muñoz added that he was encouraged that this will be one step toward moving Nogales in the right direction with the help of many people in the community who are actively engaged in making positive changes for the future.
After the meeting, a steering committee, which includes representatives from MCHC, Nogales Community Development, the City of Nogales, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and the 0S3 Movement, used the comments and suggestions to begin establishing an action plan, David said.
“We accomplished a ton, but nothing is set in stone. It’s all about evolving and moving forward in the next months and years,” she said. “We’re open to new ideas, but we’ve really got an exciting path and plan ahead.”
Anyone interested in becoming involved with the Local Food, Local Places project can contact David by email at cdavid@mariposachc.net or by calling (520) 375-6050.
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