Dental Implants Near Arrowhead Ranch, AZ

Shop organically! Grocery stores, farmer’s markets, health food stores, ranch markets and a variety of other places offer large produce sections. With an abundance of options and controversy surrounding the food industry, we’ve all grown suspicious of how our food made it to the dinner table. Wherever you decide to shop, here are a few things to remember from a few experts in the industry.

Have you ever wondered if labeling on produce holds any significance? The codes on those tiny stickers contain information helpful for stores, but for consumers as well. Some stickers have 4-digit codes indicating it was grown conventionally meaning it may have been treated with pesticides. 5-digit codes starting with a ‘9’ indicate an organic fruit or vegetable and 5-digit codes starting with an ‘8’ indicate genetically modified produce. Look for the USDA Organic label to guarantee that the product is 95% organic.

Maya Dailey, owner of Maya’s Farm at South Mountain, is committed to growing the highest quality produce without the use of pesticides. Her agriculture is available at select farmer’s markets around the valley. Daily stresses that knowledge is crucial, “Educate yourself and make sure you know what you’re buying.” She adds that understanding the seasonality of produce can make the difference. If citrus is available in June, it wasn’t grown locally. According to Dee Logan, Senior Coordinator of The Arizona Community Farmer’s Market Group, “Vitamin content is lost as produce matures.”

At farmer’s markets, there is both certified and uncertified produce, but what exactly does getting certified entail and is one better than another? The certifying process begins with a certifying group performing tests and ensuring that certain standards are being met. For example, farmland must be free of chemicals for a period of time before it can be certified. Regular inspections are also held to ensure farms are maintaining those standards.

According to Daily, “Just because it’s certified doesn’t mean pesticides aren’t used.” She says the only way to be sure, is to question your local farmers and farmer’s market staff. Logan adds, “Farmers are excited to share their techniques.”

Unlike grocery stores and health food stores, farmer’s markets can sprout up seasonally. The Arizona Community Farmer’s Markets along with other farmer’s market organizations open their markets on certain days of the week, seasonally and year round. For schedules and locations visit: www.arizonafarmersmarkets.com. For a list of where Maya’s Farm products are sold visit: www.mayasfarm.com.

www.arizonafarmersmarkets.com

Children in Arrowhead Ranch neighborhoods south of Loop 101 will attend Deer Valley High School, under a change the Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board approved Tuesday.

The board approved the change after dozens of Glendale parents and residents in those neighborhoods pushed back.

The vote was split 3-2. Ann O'Brien, Ann Ordway and Julie Read voted in favor; Darcy Tweedy and Jenny Frank abstained.

District administrators recommended the change as part of a larger boundary change proposal intended to even out enrollment across high schools in the district and delay the need for a new high school.

The change moves the Arrowhead neighborhoods from within the Mountain Ridge High School boundary to within the Deer Valley boundary, which upset some parents who believe Deer Valley is a lower-performing school.

School board members disagree with that assessment, which was based in part on the state's letter grade ratings that awarded Mountain Ridge an "A" and Deer Valley a "B."

DATABASE: Search your school's 2019 AZMERIT scores

School district officials said Tuesday that the change is necessary to increase enrollment at Deer Valley, which will in turn bring more funding to the school and build better classes and programs.

Tweedy said she agrees that Deer Valley needs more students, but doesn't understand why the district didn't address overcrowding at Barry Goldwater High School — which would affect when the district needs a new high school.

"I think we can do better," she said.

Where did the borders move?

The district, which encompasses parts of Glendale, Peoria and Phoenix, is changing the boundaries as population grows in the eastern portion of the district, along Interstate 17.

But the approved changes only slightly reduce the number of students expected to live in that area, within the Barry Goldwater boundary.

Instead, they mainly reduce the number of students living in the Sandra Day O'Connor High School boundary, by expanding Mountain Ridge's boundary farther north and Boulder Creek High School's boundary farther south.

They also slightly decrease the students in Mountain Ridge's boundary and slightly increase the students in Deer Valley's boundary.

Incoming ninth graders, their siblings and the siblings of current high school students would be given priority open enrollment at the high school they were previously assigned.

Without the changes, Jim Migliorino, a deputy superintendent with the district, said Tuesday that Deer Valley would grow smaller in coming years, making it hard to continue offering comprehensive programs at that school, while Sandra Day would fill up, potentially leading to open enrollment students not being allowed in.

Superintendent Curtis Finch has said that it's important to allow open enrollment in order to stay competitive with other districts.

Between Tuesday's meeting and the last board meeting earlier in January, the district released new projected enrollment figures and received information from high school principals about capacity at their schools.

Frank said she was concerned about receiving so many different projections along with worries that the northern boundaries weren't addressed, .

Nate Miller, a parent who was originally opposed to the Arrowhead Ranch boundary changes, said he came to understand the need to add more students to Deer Valley High School's boundary, but he shares Frank and Tweedy's concerns about the differing projections and Barry Goldwater's growth.

"The numbers presented to the board by the district seemed to change repeatedly over this process in order to continue the narrative that a boundary change was necessary," he said Wednesday. "This, coupled with the fact that the district is not addressing the real growth area, which is Barry Goldwater, seems to be setting the stage for them to justify a new high school in several years."

Reach the reporter at jen.fifield@azcentral.com or at 602-444-8763. Follow her on Twitter @JenAFifield.

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