Why a cooperative?
Everyone knows there is strength in numbers. Small-scale food producers, working independently, have a tough time earning enough from sales to stay afloat in a competitive market. As farmers, we are working our fields everyday, growing and harvesting the freshest food possible. Many can’t afford to visit potential customers and seek out new markets because they are so busy in the field. Farmer cooperatives keep farmers growing the food we love because they can pool resources and share expenses. Together, they are stronger.
Our Farms
Sun Produce is a growing group of smaller-acreage farmers practicing safe, sustainable agriculture – with production methods including Certified Naturally Grown, Certified Organic, Aquaponic / hydroponic, organic (not certified), wild-harvested, conventional, and pesticide-free.
Central Maricopa County
Crooked Sky Farms
In 1994, Frank Martin decided to pursue
his dream of farming. A love which he
had developed working closely with
his father, who became sick after years
of exposure to traditional farming
chemicals. Today, he continues
Native American tradition and grows
sustainably by use of heirloom seeds,
crop rotations, etc. Crooked Sky farm
emphasizes “Stewardship of the land,”
by prioritizing a healthy environment
and a healthy community. Crooked Sky Farms is also working with beginning farmer Dennis Hudson from Maricopa, Arizona.
Maya’s Farm
Nestled up against Phoenix’s South
Mountain, Maya’s Farm is a sustainable
operation growing to support local markets, schools, restaurants, as well as general customers through CSA. With a background in microbiology and geology, Maya knew that growing in an ancient river bed would allow for nutrient rich and healthy produce. Maya’s Farm is also partnered with the Mollen Foundation to shine light on sustainable farming and encourage children and families to cook together.
Orchard Community Learning Center
The Orchard provides programs which build regenerative food systems, develop community wellness, and increase our connection to Mother Earth. These programs include: Food-to-Food compost, to decrease food waste between growers; Healthy Roots Cafe, a plant-based restaurant interning between the ages of 9-17 in collaboration with Roosevelt Elementary School District; STEA3M offering workshops for field work opportunities; Edible garden beds, to be
installed in other communities; and the Harvest is offered at local markets.
Pinnacle Farms
Sitting at the base of South Mountain,
Pinnacle Farms holds 17 acres at their
main location, and 1 other field located
in Waddell. Pinnacle farms works to
preserve the desert’s biodiversity by
planting varieties which thrive in arid
climates. Many of these varieties offer
flavors not common in most grocery
stores. The farms also focus on using
renewable resources and sustainable
practices to promote environmental and
nutritional health for future generations.
Spaces of Opportunity
Spaces of Opportunity is an initiative of Cultivate South Phoenix (CUSP) which includes a farmers market, community gardens and an urban incubator farm. Spaces farms selling through Sun Produce include Project Roots AZ was co-founded by former Phoenix Mercury Player, WNBA Coach Bridget Pettis and Arizona native Dionne Washington in late 2019. Based in Phoenix, AZ Project Roots focuses on ways to educate the community about growing their own food. The project supports the homeless and those with food insecurities by feeding them from local community gardens and mobile kitchen service, supplying hygiene items, clothing and shelter. Family farmers Jesus Najera Rueda and Isam Farms also plant their fields at Spaces of Opportunity.
Hypha Farms
Based out of Phoenix Arizona, Hypha brings gourmet mushrooms to the Southwest. They supply chefs, food groups, grocers and households with exotic foods of the highest quality. They harvest only the finest products through state of the art labs, environmentally controlled fruiting chambers, and a network of direct foragers from around the world.
Vilardi Gardens
Vilardi Gardens produces the highest quality heirloom tomato, vegetable and herb plants suitable for the Maricopa County climate.
They are a wholesale-only propagator, specializing in all-natural heirloom edible crops suitable for Maricopa County, serving local farmers, local nurseries and Farmers Markets through our Vendor network.
East Maricopa County
The Farm at Agritopia
In 1960, the Johnston family established
a homestead in Gilbert, Arizona. Then
in 2015, the Johnston family created the
Family Foundation of Urban Agriculture,
to celebrate agricultural tradition, and
to educate the community on urban
farming. Over 11 acres is dedicated to
the farm, and their agricultural products
can be found at the farm store, and
through CSA. Agritopia even encourages
consumer education by offering
community gardening plots.
Dwight Bond Farms
Here at Dwight Bond Farms we have grown everything under the sun but our family and friends know us best for our delicious tomatoes.Dwight Bond Farms tomatoes are sweet, tangy, balanced, and grown under beautiful Arizona sunshine.
LEHR Innovations
The LEHR team have come together with a wealth of life experiences and diversity with a passion for Regenerative Agriculture. Our team has various ranges of neurodivergent individuals with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and PTSD that are also Non-Binary, Queer, Bi-sexual and Gay. We different levels of education and age. We are more then we are on the surface and we celebrate that, as it helps us see the world differently. Our differences help us to seek solutions for everyone.
West Maricopa County
Blue Sky Organic Farms
David and Sara operate under USDA
organic regulations, and are certified
as organic by California Certified
Organic Farmers. With 180 different
crop varities, Blue Sky offers both a weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and a farm store. Their produce can also be found at various farmers market in the Phoenix and Scottsdale area.
Crow’s Dairy
Crow’s Dairy is a 5th generation, family owned and operated Arizona dairy farm. In 2008, after 30+ years of milking Holstein cows, the Crow Family began milking their first herd of Nubian dairy goats and have not looked back. The Crow Family is looking forward to providing more local products that are sure to keep their loyal customers coming back!
J and J Poms
J&J manage a year round U-pick or pickup
orchard, nested in the West Valley of
Phoenix near White Tank Mountain Park.
They are a pesticide free establishment,
and encourage visitors to pick fruit
themselves. The orchard welcomes
pollinators onsite, and sometimes offers
raw honey to their visitors. Jim and Joyce
specialize in growing pomegranates, but
their orchard offers a large variety of
citrus, apples, and other tree fruits.
Justice Brothers Ranch
As the oldest operating citrus orchard in
the state of Arizona, the Justice Family
Ranch has been family-owned since
inception in 1928. Organically grown
citrus is the ranch’s specialty, and it is
encouraged to customers to pick their
oranges from the orchard. The ranch
produces a wide variety of products,
and welcomes other vendors at their commercial farm stand.
Pinal County
Rhiba Farms
Dedicated to providing the Phoenix
area with nutrient-rich produce, Rhiba
farms uses aquaponics. They offer these
to customers by farmbox and by farm
stands at various farmers markets. An
adopt a chicken program is offered to
customers, where the customer can
receive eggs from a cage-free bird, in
exchange for funding the bird’s care.
Customers can also find Rhiba Farm’s
produce at various restaurants and juice bars in the area.
Yavapai County
Aguiar Farms
Farming is no new trade for Fernando Aguiar. He began learning the art of working with the land as a child growing up on a farm in Mexico. He now lives on a beautiful piece of land in Paulden with his wife and children. While he’s always had a garden to feed his family, he’s been continually expanding over the last few years to provide fresh produce for the local community. Aguiar Farm is abundantly lined with lush plants grown without pesticides, herbicides or chemicals. Fernando and his family started all of their plants from seed. They’re growing peppers, chiles, cabbage, corn, beets, onions, garlic, squash, and an array of other nutritious vegetables, fruits and herbs.
Blooming Reed Farms
Juan is the son of Fernando Aguiar of Aguiar Farm, a long time local farmer and PFM vendor. Juan and his wife Keeton still work on the Aguiar Farm but have branched off and are also nurturing their own farm in Paulden, Blooming Reed. They have a wide assortment of the most beautiful flowers- Blooming Reed is a very fitting name! Vegetable standards such as squash, peppers, tomatoes, carrots and beets as well as melons and herbs are all grown with pesticide and herbicide free practices.
Whipstone Farms
Whipstone Farm’s work is a staple part of sustainable agriculture in northern Arizona. Cory was at the first Prescott Farmers Market in 1996 selling produce from his overflowing garden. All that is harvested from their 15 acres in Paulden is grown without synthetic fertilizer or chemical pesticides. Whipstone Farm has a crew of employees, interns, and volunteers that are essential in its production. Cory and Shanti hold true to their value of relationship by caring and respecting their workers.
Navajo County
Coffee Pot Farms
Coffee Pot Farms is a 36-acre farm located in Dilkon, Arizona. Cherilyn Yazzie says she founded the farm on the belief that “food is the first medicine, as it comes from Mother Earth, and that food sovereignty is the critical first step to creating healthy communities and healthy families.”