History of the South Phoenix Community Kitchen
pictured: Keosha Brooks, owner of Fresh Peak Natural Juice, is one of the first entrepreneurs working in the G. Benjamin Brooks Academy community kitchen.
Local First Arizona’s Food Entrepreneurship Team has opened a new community kitchen in at the G. Benjamin Brooks Non-Profit Campus in South Phoenix. The kitchen is a partnership initiative with Tiger Mountain Foundation, an organization that empowers people by building flourishing community gardens and providing job skills, many of whom have come to Tiger Mountain through the parole and justice system. The initiative is aimed at growing a diverse community of food artisans and micro-entrepreneurs that will transform an already vibrant local food economy—bringing more access, choice, and food sovereignty to this South Phoenix neighborhood.
The G. Benjamin Brooks Academy originally opened as Palmdale Elementary in South Phoenix in 1966. The school served residents of South Pheonix until 2014 when it closed it’s doors to daily students. The campus has now been reimagined as a campus for non-profits organizations and is aimed at serving the community once again.
The school’s namesake, Reverend Doctor George Benjamin Brooks, was a tireless advocate of civil rights and social change—working diligently to better the world around him. He dedicated his life to fighting discrimination across Arizona; and for over 50 years, he was a strong voice in the fight for equality for all citizens. He served as president of the Maricopa County NAACP from 1964 to 1972 and again in 1964. During this time, he lobbied in Washington for funds to start a preschool, a move that would eventually lead to the establishment of Head Start programming for Arizona. He served as a member of the Arizona legislature and as a longtime school board member with the Roosevelt Elementary School District. He also founded Meals on Wheels in the Phoenix community.
Local First Arizona is continuing the legacy of G. Benjamin Brooks by removing barriers and providing greater opportunity for the residents of the South Phoenix neighborhood where the kitchen is located. For more information about the kitchen and food incubation programs that Local First Arizona offers click here.
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