Growing Together: A Celebration at Heart & Soil People’s Garden
At The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, we believe that when you invest in people and community, something meaningful takes root.
Sometimes, you can’t fully understand what that looks like until you see it firsthand.
When I first visited the Heart & Soil People’s Garden in South Phoenix in 2023, I was struck by what had already been created on a small piece of land. What began years earlier as a flower garden cared for by local business owners Pat and Howard Fleischmann had, through their generosity and a partnership with Local First Arizona, been transformed into a place for hyperlocal food production and community connection.
By the time I visited, the garden was being cultivated by a group of women growers and was producing more than 14,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each year. I left that day inspired by the women who were making such a big impact in a part of Phoenix where access to healthy food is scarce.
The following year, in 2024, Bob and I made a $1 million investment through The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation to support Local First Arizona’s entrepreneurship programs and expand the Heart & Soil People’s Garden, building on what was already a deeply rooted, community-led effort.
That investment made it possible to bring the team’s dream to life: improving the existing garden’s infrastructure and expanding onto the adjacent lot to create something even more impactful.
On March 31, after much excitement and anticipation, I had the opportunity to celebrate that vision coming to life.
At the ribbon cutting, I stood alongside the growers, partners, and community members who made it all possible. For me, it was especially meaningful to witness in person what had grown from that original visit in 2023.
The expanded space now includes a Garden Education Center, additional growing areas, and thoughtful improvements like accessible pathways, shade structures, electricity, irrigation, and a much-needed restroom for gardeners and visitors.
More importantly, it will build on the momentum started at the Heart & Soil People’s Garden by opening more opportunities for community members to learn, gather, and build something of their own.
The Garden Education Center will serve as a hub for agricultural education, entrepreneurship training, and community connection, particularly for historically underserved communities. Through hands-on programming, participants will learn everything from crop planning and soil health to financial literacy, business development, and the inner workings of our food system.
For me, this work is deeply connected to something I care about: health and wellness.
Access to fresh, nutritious food is a big part of that. But this effort shows us something even bigger. It shows us what is possible when the community comes together around a shared vision.
I’m so grateful to be part of this work, but the credit belongs to the people who bring it to life every day.
The growers. The partners. The community.
They are growing more than food here.
They are growing opportunity, connection, and a stronger future for South Phoenix.
And that is something truly worth investing in.
Cheers to what’s growing,
P.S. It’s been wonderful to see this work receive broader attention, with recent media coverage highlighting the community behind it. Happy reading!