Growing Food and Restaurants in the Arizona Desert | Farms Across America

Farms Across America travels to Tucson, Arizona to explore how local restaurants and farmers are growing a sustainable food scene in the desert.
In Tucson, all roads lead to 5 Points, especially around lunchtime, when you’re lucky if you can step foot in the door, let alone land a coveted corner table. We catch up with owners Jasper Ludwig and Brian Haskins whose dream to start a neighborhood restaurant with good food, coffee, and groceries has grown into a full-fledged community with its own sustainable supply chain serving southern Arizona.
Just before the Friday lunch rush, we sit down with Brian and Jasper to sample some of 5 Points Market & Restaurant’s finest fare, including their world-renowned huevos rancheros, their iconic smoked beet sandwich, and an unsung hero - their breakfast toast.
The 5 Points menu is bolstered by an ingenious local food hub, the brainchild of prior 5 Points chef, Erik Stanford. Stanford stops by with fresh delivery and gives us the lowdown on how he built Pivot Produce to solve the mind-numbing problem of ordering small quantities of 30+ local producers every week. And how he “pivoted” when COVID shut down 95% of his business, overnight. Today, there’s a waiting list for Pivot Direct’s weekly CSA deliveries, and farms that were close to shutting down are planting more seeds.
When we think of American agriculture, the desert isn’t the first place that comes to mind, but with a year-round growing season and 4,000 years of agricultural heritage, Arizona farmers are proving that locally grown, chemical-free food can be both profitable and sustainable. And that type of growth is good for all of us.
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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Growing Food in Arizona
02:00 How Pivot Produce Connects a Supply Chain
04:28 5 Points Market & Restaurant in Tucson
06:29 Organic, Seasonal, Sustainable Agriculture
06:59 What to Eat at 5 Points Market & Restaurant
08:39 Responding to the Pandemic with Resilience
10:32 Sustainability = Making the World a Better Place to Live
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FARMS ACROSS AMERICA: RESTAURANTS AND FARMERS GROW FOOD IN THE DESERT
Featuring:
Erik Stanford, Founder & Operations Manager, Pivot Produce
Jasper Ludwig & Brian Haskins, Owners, 5 Points Market & Restaurant
Filmed at Mission Garden, 5 Points Market & Restaurant, and Pivot Produce in Tucson, AZ
5pointstucson.com
pivotproduce.com
Directed by Eric Feigenbaum
Created by Conor Gaughan and Kate Tucker
Written and hosted by Kate Tucker
Produced by Consensus Digital Media in partnership with Remedial Media
Executive Producer - Kate Tucker
Executive Producer - Jessie English
Executive Producer - Eric Feigenbaum
Executive Producer - Conor Gaughan
Supervising Producer- Geoff Rock
Editor - Nicholas Nazmi
Assistant Editor - Dustin Waldman
Director of Photography - Isaac Rosenthal
Camera Operator - Eddie Bernard
Gaffer / Drone Operator - Fletcher Anstis
Sound Engineer - Tom Eichler
Audio Mixer / Sound Design - Dillon Terry
Color Grading - Ind3x
Motion Graphics - Yuriy Netrebyuk
Graphic Design - Stephen Lepsch
Wardrobe - Hollie Van Osenbruggen
Makeup & Hair - Margarita Potts
Production Assistant- Reymar Reyes
Special thanks to:
Mission Garden, Tucson missiongarden.org
Jackie Tran / Tucson Foodie for the legendary beet sandwich photo. jackietranphotography.com
tucsonfoodie.com

[@jessicapatterson6700]

An inspiring look at using locally produced produce with a splash of resourcefulness and creativity for seasonality of the desert. Cool people all around and will have to stop by 5 Points next time I'm in AZ.

[@frankytrevor7]

Horrible food restaurant