As part of its mission to serve the community, The Churchill in downtown Phoenix has partnered with local farmers, bakers and chefs, including James Beard Award-winner, Charleen Badman of FnB, to launch an innovative weekly curbside produce and food pickup service that helps people Valley-wide to cook like a chef, while directly supporting local farmers and restaurant workers in need.

The Churchill's new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program will offer three different sizes of pre-packed boxes ($20, $30 or $40) filled with the freshest foods from the Valley's own Sun Produce Co-op, Noble Breads, Hickman's Eggs and Northerly Oats (plus optional to-go beer, wine and cocktails from The Churchill's on-site The Brill Line).

The Churchill's new CSA program has also partnered with top local chefs such as The Churchill's own Bernie Kantak (Citizen Public House, The Gladly, Commander Hamburger), Danielle Leoni (The Breadfruit and Rum Bar), Doug Robson (Gallo Blanco, Otro Café) and Charleen Badman (FnB) to offer a Chef's box ($40) with ingredients and recipes personally curated by each week's featured chef.

Most important, says The Churchill co-founder Kell Duncan, "All proceeds from each Chef's box will be donated directly to support out-of-work staff at each chef's restaurants. And the sales of all CSA boxes at The Churchill will also provide critical support to small local farmers who have lost a large portion of their business selling to restaurants and farmer's markets."

Customers are also encouraged to Buy One, Give One, meaning they can choose to donate any sized produce box to support St. Mary's Food Bank. A proud fifth-generation Arizonan with deep farming roots, Duncan would also like to acknowledge the many people who helped bring this program together, including Cindy Gentry at Sun Produce, and consultants Sara Anderson and Patty Emmert, and Pinnacle Prevention, an Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to growing healthy families and communities.

Available for order online at http://www.thechurchillphx.com, each week's CSA box options will be posted on Tuesdays, with all orders due on Sunday for pickup the following Friday. This week's orders are due by Sunday, April 26, for pickup on Friday, May 1 between 4 - 7 pm.

Located at 901 N. 1st St. in Phoenix, http://www.thechurchillphx.com, The Churchill is temporarily open only for curbside CSA pickups and carryout from The Brill Line Beer & Spirits, Freak Brothers Pizza, Foxy Fruit Acai Bowls & Smoothies and Sauvage Bottle Shop. Named after its historic downtown Phoenix neighborhood--Evans Churchill--this welcoming 14,000 sq.-ft. urban marketplace is constructed out of 19 upcycled shipping containers. Co-founded and managed by Phoenix natives, Kell Duncan and Hartley Rodie, The Churchill is normally home to 10 small local businesses, overlooking a 9,000 sq.-ft. communal courtyard.

By Dawson Fearnow
Photo courtesy of Sun Produce Cooperative