Crooked Sky Farms receives notice to vacate
Frank Martin didn’t have a good feeling last year when two relocation specialists walked onto his Phoenix farm and told him the city was eyeing the property for a water sewage plant.
Crooked Sky Farms is an organic farm located at 27th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. Martin, who is half-Cherokee and the son of migrant farm workers, grew up in the farming community. He lives in Buckeye and has leased Crooked Sky Farms’ current location since 2003.
The idea of relocation bothered him, but it wasn’t until recently that possibility seemed more like a reality. About a month ago, he received a 90-day notice from City of Phoenix to vacate the farm’s property, Martin said.
“To move a farm, it’s just horrible,” Martin said. “To pick up everything, move over and start a new crop. I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights and my stomach is in knots.”
Michael Hammett, the Chief Service Officer for City of Phoenix, confirmed Friday the city does not own the land, but is trying to purchase it from the current landowner. Hammett said the notice was given because federal law requires at least 90 days advance notice, but the intent was only to inform Martin of the possible relocation.
The city is still in early stages of negotiation with the landowner and is not trying to kick Martin out at the end of 90 days, Hammett said. There is no timeline or set deadline yet for acquiring the land, he added.
“We want to make sure that nobody is caught off guard by this and that we are proceeding in a manner that allows for the successful relocation,” Hammett said.
Why Phoenix wants to take over farm land
Hammett said the water services department wants to consolidate its facilities but has not finalized yet what would be developed on the land where Crooked Sky Farms sits.
But the city is forecasting the population’s future needs, based on Census and other data and wants to be ahead of the curve, he said. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., The Arizona Republic reported in May 2020.
“This is all tied to the safe distribution of water for our growing population,” Hammett said.
Martin said he can’t afford to purchase the land Crooked Sky Farms sits on. He confirmed the city had offered to help pay for the costs of moving, but he doesn’t understand how the city can serve him with a relocation notice without owning the property.
“To me it seemed like they were reneging,” Martin said. “They were supposed to find me a farm and here we are with a 90-day notice. They all say they want to help, but they’re not really doing anything.”
Viable farmland is Arizona is shrinking and a farm can’t be relocated as easily as a pizza parlor, he added.
“All the nutrients you put in the ground over the years, you can’t get that back,” Martin said. “All the fertilization and building up the ground we did here, and they’re just going to make a sewer treatment plant that does not have much need in that.”
What is Crooked Sky Farms?
Martin started Crooked Sky Farms in 1994. Since 2003, he’s operated the farm from its current location, which encompasses about 40 acres.
Crooked Sky Farms provides fruits and vegetables to families in Tucson and metro Phoenix through CSA (community-supported agriculture) subscriptions, farmers markets, food banks and nonprofit organizations.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, he’s seen a higher demand for CSA in general, Martin said. He also sells produce at a reduced rate to the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which distributes food in Ajo, a small community in Pima County.
“It’s really tough in that area right now,” Martin said. “Ajo is such a small town anyway, just sort of out there by themselves. A lot of the businesses shut down and a lot of people are not working.”
Supporters rally to save Crooked Sky Farms
Two organizations that work with Crooked Sky Farms have started campaigning to save the farm. Crooked Sky Farms donates food to The Joy Bus, a nonprofit that prepares meals for home-bound cancer patients. Pinnacle Prevention, a nonprofit that promotes access to healthy food, also has a close relationship with Crooked Sky Farms.
The Joy Bus also sent out an email, urging people to contact Martha Ojeda of Acquisition Sciences, Ltd., a company that’s assisting Phoenix with the relocation.
“If Farmer Frank’s land is acquired for development, not only will our community lose this local treasure and source of lovingly grown organic produce, but our meal delivery program and the patients that we serve will suffer tremendously,” the email reads.
Pinnacle Prevention also created an online letter form for people to send to Ojeda and Phoenix City Council.
“Farmer Frank has been an anchor for the local food movement in Arizona, including its tribal communities, for more than 20 years,” reads the letter. “Crooked Sky Farms supplies much needed food to our Arizona families, and even more during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.”