April 7, 2024 by Charles Bingham

Second Sitka Food Summit to take place on Monday, April 22

Join Transition Sitka and the Sitka Local Foods Network for the second Sitka Food Summit on Monday, April 22. This event will explore findings, offer feedback, and view the information collected for the 2024 Sitka Community Food Assessment.

Come by Harrigan Centennial Hall any time between 6-8 p.m. on Monday, April 22, for dinner, a chance to win prizes, and to participate in an informal data-sharing event.

The inaugural Sitka Community Food Assessment was a project from the 2012 Sitka Health Summit and was published in 2014. Since it’s now a decade later and the data in the original assessment is obsolete, an update has been in the works. This event will present some preliminary findings before the new assessment is published.

The Sitka Community Food Assessment examines where Sitka residents get their food, what types they eat, what they grow, what they hunt and fish for, where they shop, what type of access people have to healthy food, and other questions about Sitka’s food supply. The findings of the food assessment will help Sitka improve its food security.

Callie Simmons has been coordinating the updated assessment, with mentorship from Lisa Sadleir-Hart who coordinated the original. During the project they had a community survey that had nearly 400 responses, led several focus groups, and more. For more information, contact sitkafoodassessment@gmail.com.

November 4, 2022 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Conservation Society to host annual Wild Foods Potluck on Sunday, Nov. 13

The Sitka Conservation Society is thrilled to once again be able to invite the community to its Wild Foods Potluck.

Join us beginning at 5pm on Sunday, Nov. 13, at Harrigan Centennial Hall for an evening celebrating the connections that bind us together: food, community, and this place we call home.

Please bring a dish featuring ingredients that were fished, foraged, hunted, or cultivated in Southeast Alaska. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and dinner will begin at 5:45 p.m.

This event is open to the entire community. Come celebrate Alaska’s wild food bounty. Prizes will be awarded for generosity, presentation, and tastiness. This event is open to the entire community.

The Sitka Conservation Society could never pull off an event this big without help from volunteers, members, and our community. Interested in volunteering at the potluck or want more information? Contact info@sitkawild.org or call 747-7509. Current members should be able to pick up their 2023 SCS calendar at the dinner.

September 3, 2022 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Conservation Society brings back Fish to Schools coho donation drive

The Sitka Conservation Society is excited to bring back its Fish to Schools coho donation drive after a couple-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This year’s drive is in full swing and will run through mid-late September. Thanks to the F/V Mindalina for its recent donation of 50 coho to the program.

To participate, simply tell your processor how many pounds or the number of coho you want to donate when you offload and they will record it. Yelloweye rockfish overage is also welcome. If you are a freezer-troller offloading at the Samson Tug and Barge Dock and would like to donate fish, look for the Fish to Schools tote or coordinate with Kurt Ainslie.

Thank you to all fishermen for their support of the Fish to Schools program year after year, helping increase access to healthy local seafood for youth in Sitka and ensuring the program remains a success.

Contact Kylee Jones at kylee@sitkawild.org or call 907-738-7232 with any questions or for more information.

April 3, 2022 by Charles Bingham

Sheet’ká Kwáan to host traditional foods and medicines series

(UPDATED SCHEDULE)

Join Vivian Mork (Yéilk’, T’akdeintaan) and Naomi Michalsen (Kaasei, Wooshkeetaan Toos Hit) — for a series of events sharing traditional plants knowledge, including information on respectful stewardship, harvesting and processing practices. Participants may also help to prepare food and gifts for the Yaaw Koo.éex’ Herring Ceremony (1 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at Harrigan Centennial Hall).

Learn about spring vegetables, spring spices and spring medicinals, such as deer heart, fireweed shoots, fiddleheads, beach lovage, Labrador tea, sea chickweed, salmonberry shoots, dandelions, wild celery, plantain, watermelon berry shoots, popweed, usnea, devil’s club and more.

The Wednesday opening ceremony for the Traditional Foods & Medicine series has been CANCELLED due to weather. Please join us at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, at Totem Park instead for a series introduction and plant identification walk. Additional schedule updates are below. Please help us spread the word. Details on what to bring to be prepared have also been added to the event description.

WEDNESDAY, April 6

CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

THURSDAY, April 7

10am-Noon @ Totem Park. Series Introduction & Plant ID Walk.

2pm-4pm @ HPR Rec Main Shelter. Harvesting, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

FRIDAY, April 8

10am-Noon @ HPR Rec Main Shelter. Harvesting, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

2pm-4pm @ HPR Rec Main Shelter. Harvesting, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

SATURDAY, April 9

Noon @ Baranof Street Cross Trail Entrance. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

SUNDAY, April 10

Noon @ Baranof Street Cross Trail Entrance. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

TUESDAY, April 12
10am-Noon @ Location TBD. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.
2pm-4pm @ HPR Rec Main Shelter. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

WEDNESDAY, April 13
10am-Noon @ Location TBD. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.
2pm-4pm @ HPR Rec Main Shelter. Harvest, Processing, Respectful Stewardship Session.

August 21, 2021 by Charles Bingham

UAS-Sitka Campus to host annual class on how to identify Southeast Alaska mushrooms

The University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus Office of Continuing Education will host its annual class “Southeast Mushrooms: With Kitty LaBounty” in September.

This course meets three times: twice on Zoom and once for an in person field trip. During the field trip (masks required), Kitty will be on hand to identify the mushrooms students find. If it’s safe, students can taste the mushrooms or take them home to cook later.

This three-day class takes place from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, and from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, using Zoom. The field trip is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 4 (check in at the UAS-Sitka Campus for field trip). The course fee is $50 and students should dress for the outdoors, bring waxed paper, a face mask, and a bucket for gathering.

This course is designed to introduce students to the mushroom flora of Southeast Alaska. The focus will be on the use of taxonomic keys for identification of fungi and recognition of both edible and poisonous mushrooms. Cooking and preservation of mushrooms will be discussed. Field trips are followed by in-class identification of collected mushrooms.

Kitty goes beyond mushroom identification by teaching students to recognize the edible (and poisonous) mushrooms they can find while out on the trails. It’s prime mushroom foraging season here in Sitka, so don’t let this opportunity to enrich your diet pass you by.

For those interested in learning more, books on Alaska mushrooms can be found at Old Harbor Books in downtown Sitka.

There is a maximum of 18 students allowed in this class. Please contact the Office of Continuing Education at (907) 747-7777 for further information.

March 5, 2021 by Charles Bingham

Check out the March 2021 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the March 2021 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the 2021 Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest, the Pick.Click.Give. charitable giving program being active for when people file for their PFDs, an invitation to join our board of directors, and information about our 2021 sponsorship program. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the newsletter image in the right column of our website and filling in the information. If you received a copy but didn’t want one, there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter so you can unsubscribe. Our intention is to get the word out about upcoming events and not to spam people. We will protect your privacy by not sharing our email list with others. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@SitkaLocalFoods).

February 3, 2021 by Charles Bingham

Check out the February 2021 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the February 2021 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

September 4, 2020 by Charles Bingham

Save the dates of Nov. 6-7 for the Alaska Food Festival and Conference

HOMER, Alaska (Aug. 5, 2020) — Save the dates of Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, on your calendar as the 2020 Alaska Food Festival and Conference is going virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the themes are food entrepreneurship and rural and Indigenous food systems.

Hosted by the Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC), this fifth semi-annual event previously took place in Anchorage in 2014 and 2016, in Fairbanks in 2017 and Homer in 2019. This year, the conference was scheduled for Anchorage before going virtual.

In addition to the Alaska Food Policy Council, this event is co-sponsored by the Alaska Village Initiatives AgAlaska Program, FRESH (the Food Research, Enterprise, and Sustainability Hub of the North), and Alaska Pacific University.

The goals of the conference and festival are to:

increase awareness of Alaska food issues among the general population;
provide training, resources, and networking opportunities to increase involvement in local food issues by community members and decision makers; and
increase connections and build community between the public, Alaska food businesses, NGOs, governmental entities, tribal entities, and others to support local economic development and innovative solutions.

Details for the event are still in the planning stage. But past conferences have included presentations on food systems in Alaska, food security/insecurity, traditional foods, farmers markets, agriculture in Alaska, fisheries, food policy, food waste reduction, and more. We also plan to hold a silent auction featuring food-related items from around the state.

In addition, the annual Alaska Food Hero Awards will be presented, and nominations are accepted at this link until Oct. 5, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCIEBs4JK_0b8zThL-hzUEeSbEhG8unwSqz6e_eKT34YzBEw/viewform.

People and organizations interested in presenting about Alaska food topics can submit presentation abstracts by Oct. 5 to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RH5RQYN. If you’re interested in sponsoring the event, you can go to this link for more details about our sponsorship tiers, https://www.akfoodpolicycouncil.org/2020-sponsors.

Registration costs $40-$150, depending on the package, and you can register at this link, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-alaska-food-festival-conference-tickets-113138002812. You also can purchase and Alaska Food Policy Council membership at that link.

The keynote speakers will be announced in August, and a tentative conference agenda will be available in October. More details about the conference are available at this link, https://www.akfoodpolicycouncil.org/2020-festival-conference.

For more information about the conference, contact Robbi Mixon at (907) 235-4068, Ext. 23, or director@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org.

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The Alaska Food Policy Council (https://www.akfoodpolicycouncil.org/) is a nonprofit organization whose diverse membership works to engage Alaskans to make positive changes for the state’s food system, and to create a healthier, more prosperous and more secure future for all.
Alaska Village Initiatives (https://akvillage.com/) is a non-profit membership-based company dedicated to improving the well-being of rural Alaska communities, families, and individuals. AgAlaska (https://agalaska.net/) affords rural villages support and resources needed to begin community gardening farming and ranching. Information and links provide current grant opportunities, best garden practices, and resource links to government and non-government agencies.
FRESH (Food Research, Enterprise, and Sustainability Hub of the North (https://www.freshnorth.org/) works to catalyze the modern food landscape of tomorrow by honoring the living traditions of yesterday and harnessing the innovative spirit of today’s Circumpolar North.
Alaska Pacific University (https://www.alaskapacific.edu/) is a small liberal arts college located in Anchorage, Alaska, that emphasizes experiential and active learning. APU, along with the University of Alaska Anchorage, is home to FRESH.

April 18, 2020 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Tribe of Alaska, USDA Forest Service Sitka Ranger Station will plant Tlingít potato garden on Earth Day

SITKA, Alaska – The USDA Forest-Service Sitka Ranger District and Sitka Tribe of Alaska will join forces for the fourth consecutive year to educate people about Tlingít potatoes (also called Maria’s potatoes) and plant a crop of potatoes. The community is invited to participate in a web-based educational program on April 22, 2020. USDA Forest Service staff, the tribe, and tribal citizens will share how to grow Tlingít potatoes, and share the biology, history, and cultural aspects of these interesting root vegetables.

Separate from the education event, Tongass National Forest employees will, this year, plant the potatoes themselves. Since 2017, the Sitka Ranger District has provided a sunny plot of land to serve as the shared potato garden and provided the seed potatoes to plant the garden. In previous years, the Sitka Tribe’s Traditional Foods Program, the gardening class from Pacific High School, and Sitka community volunteers have assisted on the project.

“Because of the limited window for planting and the need to keep people safe and healthy, we decided that a virtual event, followed by one or two employees planting the bed, was our best plan of action for 2020,” Sitka District Ranger Perry Edwards said. “By teaching people through a web-based event, even more people can learn how to grow and sustain an easily grown, very productive traditional food.”

The virtual educational event is happening from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, which is Earth Day. Attendees should use a computer or tablet, and are encouraged to sign in a few minutes early using their full name. Organizers will use a Teams meeting at https://tinyurl.com/tlingitpotatoes for both video and audio. Organizers suggest using the button: “join in on the web instead” once they have connected to the Teams meeting. For more information, contact Michelle Putz at 907- 747-2708 or email michelle.putz@usda.gov.

Tlingít potatoes have been present in Tlingit gardens for more than 200 years. The potatoes originate from Mexico or Chile, and were a trade item in Southeast Alaska in the early 1800s.

November 17, 2019 by Charles Bingham

Did you have a good year hunting or fishing? You can share your traditional foods with food programs

This is the time of year when a lot of Sitkans have been out deer hunting, or they have a freezer full of fish caught in the summer.

Did you know recent changes to state and federal laws mean you can share your traditional foods with food service programs, hospitals, schools, senior meal programs, food banks, and more. Getting these traditional foods into food service programs is important, as it helps in the healing of sick or isolated elders and it helps connect young people to their local foods. But not all traditional fish and game can be donated due to health risks, so here are a few guidelines to follow from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Food Safety and Sanitation Program.

First, know what foods you can donate and which you can’t, and in what forms they need to be in for donation. You can donate most wild game meats, finfish, seafood except molluscan shellfish (eg, clams, oysters, cockles, scallops, etc.), marine mammal meat and fat (eg, maktak and seal meat), plants including fiddleheads and sourdock, berries, mushrooms, and eggs (whole, intact and raw).

You are not allowed to donate, due to high health risks, these items — fox, polar bear, bear and walrus meat; seal oil or whale oil, with or without meat; fermented game meat (beaver tail, whale flipper, seal flipper, maktak, and walrus); homemade canned or vacuum-sealed foods; smoked or dried seafood products, unless those products are prepared in a seafood processing facility permitted under 18 AAC 34; fermented seafood products (salmon eggs, fish heads, etc.); and molluscan shellfish.

When donating meats, the meat can be whole, quartered or in roasts. Donated fish should be gutted and gilled, with or without heads. Plants should be whole, fresh or frozen. The food service program accepting the donation needs to make sure the hunter/fisher knows if the animal was diseased, that butchering and other processing was done in a healthy manner, and the food will not cause a health hazard or significant health risk. When donating meat, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game requires a completed transfer of possession form.