(MESA, Ariz.) – Arizona is fast becoming an in-demand foodie destination with top chefs and top tables earning accolades and praise from across the nation and now, visitors seeking to bring home memories via their taste buds can hit the road and enjoy nearly a dozen culinary-focused attractions on Arizona's Fresh Foodie Trail.

Developed by Visit Mesa, the destination marketing organization for Arizona's third-largest city and its surrounding regional communities, the Fresh Foodie Trail is a new self-guided driving route that guides visitors as they plot and plan incredibly tasty food-filled road trips in the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Stops include a citrus grove, olive mill, peach orchard, dairy farm and even a flour mill – all offering tours and tastings paired with education on locally-grown Arizona goods.

“Travelers are becoming more and more food obsessed when they visit a new city or destination and they are focused on every aspect of dining from preparation to presentation. We know that the culinary experience visitors are seeking goes well beyond just a taste,” said Kimberly Freer, senior vice president of marketing for Visit Mesa. “In Mesa, the food stories we tell are about quality and enjoying something that can only found on our trail. When you tack on the epicurean knowledge shared with visitors during say, the cold-pressing demonstration at the olive mill or while walking the heirloom wheat fields with our local farmer, it is priceless.”

The Arizona Fresh Foodie Trail is presented in a new Agritourism Guide for those heading to the southwest and is available for download at www.VisitMesa.com. The guide maps out each of the culinary attractions and highlights farmers markets, food truck events, and includes a local dining section with restaurants that feature locally-grown and locally-sourced items on their menus. The guide also includes information on food-inspired events, the area's craft brewing scene, and a seasonal guide to u-pick produce.

Stops on Arizona's Fresh Foodie Trail include:

• Superstition Dairy Farms, a fourth-generation farm featuring a milk bar and cheese and ice cream tasting
• The Orange Patch, one of Arizona's original citrus growers
• Queen Creek Olive Mill, Arizona's only family-owned and operated working olive mill and farm where olives are grown and pressed for the production of high quality extra virgin olive oil
• Hayden Flour Mills at Sossaman Farms, focused on growing hand-cultivated heirloom and native grains
• Agritopia, lauded by the New York Times as a leading agri-hood, featuring local organic dining at Joe's Farm Grill and The Coffee Shop
• True Garden Urban Farm, educating guests on the benefits of living soil and hydroponic growing
• Schnepf Farms, Arizona's largest peach grower, celebrating 80 years of family farming and festivals

Food tourism is on the rise. The American Culinary Traveler Study, distributed by Mandala Research LLC, finds that more than 39 million leisure travelers are “deliberate” culinary travelers with an additional 35 million who are “opportunistic”. Because this area's attractions are open year-round, Mesa, Ariz. visitors can time their visits to experience multiple harvests, a variety of culinary events, festivals and food-related happenings, and enjoy various produce at different times of the year including citrus in January, peaches in May, and olives in October. To learn more about Mesa's Fresh Foodie offerings for visitors, go online to www.visitmesa.com/lifestyles/fresh-foodie/.

For more information on these and other culinary travel experiences in Mesa City Limitless®, go online to Visit Mesa at www.VisitMesa.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Michelle Streeter, Vice President of Communications
Visit Mesa
Direct: 480-682-3638 Toll-free: 800-283-6372 x345
E-mail: Michelle@VisitMesa.com
www.VisitMesa.com