It would be great if you came over here. In answer to your questions we have about 8,600 people in town and lots of visitors especially in the summer.

Sitka is a great small arts town with 106 non profits and groups – the Sitka Local Foods network being just one. People enjoy the great outdoors and a wide variety of community activities, contra dances, special fundraising dinners, open mic. nights etc.

Health care is the biggest employment sector and the biggest employer in town in the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. Next is education then tourism fishing and government. The economy is pretty diverse, the town is also diverse with quite a nice mix. Tlingit, Russian, Filipino, European etc. etc.

Yes we have farmers markets 6 a year, everyother Saturday from July thru September. I hope that answered some of your questions. Take care and thanks for thinking about us.

Cheers, Doug

The main focus of the Sitka Local Foods Network is to encourage people to grow more food here in Sitka (or on Baranof or one of our neighboring islands). This is to promote local food security, since about 95 percent (or more) of our food is shipped to Alaska. It also is to promote the health and taste benefits of fresh, locally grown food, which hasn’t been picked weeks before peak ripeness in order for it to be shipped up here. You can find more information on the Sitka Local Foods Network and Sitka, Alaska, by exploring this site and the links down the right side of the page.

Just so you know, there already are two Washington-based farm groups with a big presence in Southeast Alaska. During the summer, Chelan Produce Co. sends a truck to Sitka every other weekend and it sets up in the parking lot of one of our grocery stores (Chelan Produce also visits Petersburg and other communities in Southeast). The Full Circle Farm CSA, located in the Snoqualmie Valley, sends produce boxes each week to many communities in Alaska, including Sitka. Many people involved with the Sitka Local Foods Network take advantage of Chelan Produce and Full Circle Farms products, but it’s only to supplement what we can grow here. As we grow more local food, they plan to wean themselves off the shipped-in food. Our Sitka Farmers Market (which is hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network on alternate Saturdays from July to September) only allows vendors selling locally grown produce, locally harvested fish and locally made arts and crafts.

Charles Bingham
Sitka Local Foods Network Web master

Thank You,

Tammy Smith