March 15, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Just two weeks left to file, so don’t forget to choose the Sitka Local Foods Network when you Pick.Click.Give. on your PFD app

We’re halfway through March, which means there’s just over two weeks left for Alaskans to file for their 2015 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check (the PFD application deadline is March 31). As usual, Alaskans can share their wealth with a variety of Alaska nonprofits, including the Sitka Local Foods Network, through the PFD’s Pick.Click.Give. program.

This is the second year the Sitka Local Foods Network will participate in the Pick.Click.Give. program, which allows people to donate in $25 increments to their favorite statewide and local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations when they file their PFD applications from Jan. 1 through March 31. We thank the 56 donors who pledged $2,900 to the Sitka Local Foods Network in 2014, and we appreciate your support again in 2015.

When you choose to donate part of your PFD to the Sitka Local Foods Network, you support the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, Blatchley Community Gardens, education programs about growing and preserving food, the sustainable use of traditional foods, the Sitka Community Food Assessment, the Sitka Food Summit, and a variety of other projects designed to increase access to healthy local foods in Sitka.

In 2014 a record 26,773 Alaskans gave $2.77 million to their favorite nonprofit organizations, up from $545,000 donated by 5,175 people in the program’s first year of 2009. Some Alaskans choose to donate to just one group, while others may spread several donations around to many groups. There now are more than 500 total 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations participating in Pick.Click.Give. for 2015, including 22 from Sitka.

To encourage more Alaskans to donate through the Pick.Click.Give. program, this will be the second year of the Double Your Dividend contest. Anybody who makes a non-anonymous Pick.Click.Give. donation of $25 or more to at least one of the registered nonprofits will be entered into a contest where 10 lucky Alaskans will win a second PFD check. The winners will be announced in October, about the time the PFDs start hitting bank accounts.

So how do you make a donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network through the Pick.Click.Give. program? First, go to http://pfd.alaska.gov/ and fill out your PFD application. When you get to the section of the application asking if you want to participate in Pick.Click.Give. Charitable Contributions program, click on the PCG link and search for the Sitka Local Foods Network. You also can look for us by using the town search for Sitka.

The Pick.Click.Give. program is available only to people who file their PFD applications online, and not to those who file by mail. Even though you can’t file a new PFD application after March 31, you can go back into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 each year.

You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2015 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835, or go to our page on Razoo.com, http://www.razoo.com/story/Sitka-Local-Foods-Network, and click the Donate button to make an online contribution. Please let us know if you need a receipt for tax purposes. For more information about donating, you can send an email to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting our mission of promoting and encouraging the growing, harvesting and eating of local foods in Sitka and Southeast Alaska.

March 14, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … learn how to build a simple raised garden bed

While we’re waiting for spring to finally show up in Sitka, one thing gardeners can do to prepare for planting is build a simple raised garden bed. The pictures with this post feature members of the WISEGUYS men’s health group (Rick DeGroot, Kerry MacLane, Doug Osborne and his daughter, Darby, then 4) building a garden bed in May 2008 at Blatchley Community Garden in Sitka.

First, you will need some untreated lumber (treated lumber has chemicals that can get into your food), with 2x12s being good for the frame. Your garden bed will probably be between 3-4 feet wide and 6-8 feet long, depending on your garden space and your lumber. Don’t go much wider than four feet, because you will want to be able to easily reach across the garden so you can plant and weed without falling into the bed. You can go longer than eight feet, but you might need to use more than one board to get that length. So cut your boards to your desired length and width.

Next, lay out your lumber and nail or screw your boards together to form a box. Some people prefer screws over nails, because they don’t pull loose as easily as nails. But use what you have. Some people will add corner posts that can be punched into the ground.

After you’ve built the frame, cover the ground with a bunch of old cardboard or newspapers. This will act as a barrier to help keep weeds from getting into your veggies.

Now you can start filling your frame with soil. About halfway through filling the frame, you can add a layer of seaweed, compost or other soil amendments to add nutrients to your soil. Finish by adding top soil that you mix with some of your soil amendments.

Once you have your raised garden bed built and full of soil, you can start planting (if you’re past your last-frost date, which tends to be mid-May in Sitka). Once you have your seeds planted or starts transplanted, you can water your garden bed.

In Sitka it’s always a good idea to use row-cover over your garden, especially early in the season. This not only helps keep birds and other pests out of your garden, but the white fabric creates a mini-greenhouse effect that helps warm your soil so your seeds sprout sooner.

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication on raised bed gardening

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication Gardening In Southeast Alaska

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service publication Southeast Alaska Garden Varieties

March 11, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Alaska Food Policy Council asks state legislators to return Farm to School program funds to the budget

(Editor’s note: The following item is a letter to the editor from the Alaska Food Policy Council sent to several newspapers around Alaska regarding cuts to the Farm to School Program. One of the three signers to the letter is Sitka Local Foods Network Board President Lisa Sadleir-Hart, who also serves on the Alaska Food Policy Council governing board. To learn more about the Alaska Farm to School Program, check out the brochure below or contact Program Coordinator Johanna Herron at 907-761-3870 or johanna.herron@alaska.gov.)

As the legislature continues swinging its scythe at the state budget, one of the programs about to be felled is Farm to School. And in case you don’t have kids that can tell you firsthand the benefits of the program, or if you’re not an Alaska grower that finds a market in supplying school cafeterias with Alaska Grown produce, let us tell you what the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Agriculture, Farm to School Program does: It provides expertise and support for those working to increase the connection of students, teachers, and school food service providers with products grown and produced in Alaska. This connection most commonly happens in the school lunchroom or in a school garden.

Yet, in a state that prides itself in self-reliance, consider these striking facts:

Alaskans spend $1.5 BILLION dollars on imported food each year.
Only 5-10 percent of food consumed is produced or harvested in state, but great swaths of arable land remain uncultivated.
About 15 percent of Alaska households are food insecure.
Alaskans spend about $450 million dollars on treating diet-related medical conditions.
We have a population that is largely disconnected from the food system – most kids can’t tell you what lies beneath the frilly green of a carrot top coming out of the soil.

These figures might sound gloomy, but they highlight the immense opportunity that we have to become healthier, wealthier, and more food secure. What if we spent that $1.5 billion on Alaska Grown products and kept that money in local economies? What if we produced more healthy foods in quantities that could meet the demands of our school cafeterias? What if we provided our children with the tools and knowledge necessary to make healthy food choices and maintain a healthy weight?

We already have a key mechanism to achieving these goals – it’s the Farm to School Program. The Farm to School Program helps to prioritize getting locally produced, healthy goods into cafeterias; raise a generation of food leaders and smart consumers; and create a large, reliable market for increased in-state food production.

In three short years, the number of Alaska School Districts involved in Farm to School has grown from zero to 68 percent! There’s been an 11-percent increase in school gardens state-wide. One-hundred percent of the school districts are now serving at least one local food item in their meal programs and there’s still tremendous room for growth. In five years, the program has leveraged over $1 million dollars from partner agencies. This is just the shortlist of accomplishments.

All of this and more has been achieved with an annual budget of about $190,000. Talk about bang for your buck! If the legislature eliminates or cuts funding to the Farm to School Program, they aren’t cutting the fat out of the budget. They are cutting the carrots, the potatoes, the greens, and even the local fish out of your children’s lunches, and they’re cutting supports necessary to expand in-state production.

We implore the legislature not to eliminate or reduce the funding for our Farm to School Program. It is an incredibly efficient use of a small amount of funds that has proven itself over the past five years and is one of the shining pillars of a state food system that is becoming stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient. Don’t let the legislature undo our current progress, and don’t let it stand in the way of what more can be done.

Signed,

Liz Snyder, Victoria Briggs, and Lisa Sadleir-Hart
Present and Past Board Co-Chairs, Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC)

• Alaska Farm to School Brochure

March 10, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … learn about how to raise chickens (March 25) and rabbits (April 8)

Bobbi Daniels of The Sawmill Farm grooms one of the rabbits she raises for yarn.

For more than a year, the Sitka Local Foods Network has offered a variety of free garden education classes. Now we’re adding livestock classes as Bobbi Daniels of The Sawmill Farm has offered to teach Raising Chickens 101 and Raising Rabbits 101.

The Raising Chickens 101 class is from 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine Street, parking on Spruce Street). The Raising Rabbits 101 class is 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall. Click here to check out the radio PSA.

“I am planning on tailoring the classes to who shows up (new chicken owners vs. those considering chickens) so it will go according to who is there and what they need to know, taking questions and sharing resources,” Bobbi said. “If people have something specific they want me to cover, they can message me on Facebook or call me 738-4481.”

The chicken class will cover a range of topics, including what breeds are best for eggs or meat, basic chicken coop info, how to prevent predators from getting into your flock, what types of feed you need, the advantages of chicken coop co-ops, the best time to get your chicks, etc. The rabbit class will cover topics such as what breeds are best for meat or yarn, rabbit feed types, how long it takes rabbits to reach maturity, how much cage space you need, etc.

These classes are free and open to all Sitka residents wanting to learn about chickens and rabbits. For more information about Sitka Local Foods Network education classes, contact Jennifer Carter at 747-0520 or 1-850-491-2666 (cell), or Michelle Putz at 747-2708. These are two of the many free classes being offered this year by the Sitka Local Foods Network education committee. Click here to get a full list of our upcoming spring classes.

March 10, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Local Foods Network seeks manager and assistant manager for 2015 Sitka Farmers Markets (deadline extended)

The Sitka Local Foods Network has extended the application deadline as it looks for a manager and assistant manager to coordinate the 2015 Sitka Farmers Markets this summer. These are contract positions, and the manager and assistant manager (who reports to the manager) receive small compensation depending on experience for their work organizing the six scheduled farmers markets this summer.

This is the eighth year of operation for the Sitka Farmers Market, which features six markets from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from July through September at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (this year’s market dates are July 4, 18, Aug. 1, 15, 29, and Sept. 12). The farmers markets feature booths from local farmers/gardeners, local fishermen, and artisans and craftspeople. These events are great Sitka gathering places, and we promote local foods and other local goods at the markets.

A detailed description of the market manager duties can be found at the link below. For more information or to submit applications, contact Maybelle Filler at 738-1982 or mocampo25@hotmail.com, or you can email the Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com (please put “Sitka Farmers Market Manager” in the subject line). Applications should include a cover letter, resume, three recommendations, and they are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3. The market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market reports to the Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors, and the assistant manager reports to the manager.

• Description of duties for market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market Manager (2015)

March 9, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• State grants available for summer ‘Chef at the Market’ program at 2015 local farmers markets

Suzan Brawnlyn, the Chef at the Market, holds a sample cup of honey miso-glazed black cod with broccoli and bok choy stir fry during a cooking demonstration on July 21, 2012, at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the season.

The state’s Chef at the Market program is accepting grant applications from Alaska chefs interested in providing demonstrations at local farmers markets between May and September this year.

The Chef at the Market program began in 2011 to promote fresh Alaska Grown specialty crops and teach Alaskans new ways to prepare them. The program has also provided a new opportunity for chefs to develop relationships with the local food vendors who supply restaurants and with Alaskans interested in cooking Alaska Grown at home.

In the summer of 2013, six Alaska chefs performed a total of 27 demonstrations at nine local farmers markets and special events. In 2014 there were 39 demonstrations at nine local farmers markets around the state. In addition to hosting demonstrations at the local farmers markets, chefs prepare recipes and other information about how to use the local produce they highlighted each week.

The Sitka Farmers Market hasn’t had a Chef at the Market since 2012, when Suzan Brawnlyn hosted four Chef at the Market presentations. We weren’t able to host a chef in 2013 because the kitchen was closed due to construction at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, and no Sitka chefs applied in 2014. The ANB Hall construction is finished and the kitchen is open again, so Sitka chefs are encouraged to apply for 2015.

The Chef at the Market program is part of the federal Specialty Crop Block Grant administered by the Alaska Division of Agriculture, so it will have 2015 funding (despite budget cuts to other state-run programs). To apply for a 2015 summer program grant, go to http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/ag_grants.htm or download the application at http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Grants/2015CATMRFP.pdf. Grant applications are due on Tuesday, March 31.

To find out more information about the Chef at the Market grants and demonstrations, contact Jacquelyn Schade at jacquelyn.schade@alaska.gov or 907-761-3858.

March 9, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Participants selected for Sitka Local Foods Network’s 2015 garden mentoring program

The Sitka Local Foods Network has selected the 2015 participants for its garden mentoring program, and plans are being made for six classes each this summer at the homes of our four new participants and two returning families.

This is the second year of the program, which launched last year with two participants — the families of Tami O’Neill and Anna Bradley. This year our program expands with four new families (Josephine Dasalla, A.J. Bastian, Rebecca Kubacki, and Breezy), and our two 2014 families are back for a second year. Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank.

The Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentoring program is designed for first-time gardeners, and the first year of the program involves participants learning how to grow four simple crops that grow well in Sitka (lettuce, kale, rhubarb and potatoes). The participating families learn how to find the best spot on their land (for sun and drainage), how to build raised garden beds, how to amend the soil, how to plant, how to maintain their garden, and how to harvest their crops.

The two returning families will learn how to grow more difficult crops, such as carrots and onions, plus they’ll have refreshers on their first-year crops. The goal of the program is to teach people low-cost ways to grow healthy food in Sitka. When selecting our families, we wanted to make sure there were multiple generations involved, especially kids. The classes, when announced starting in mid-April, will be open to the public. Several experienced gardeners volunteer as mentors for the selected families.

March 7, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• HB92 will require labeling of GMOs for food sold in Alaska

As a food consumer you want to know what’s in your food. Has it been soaked with chemical pesticides? Was it created using genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? How nutritious is it? Unfortunately, current laws don’t require labeling of GMOs, so you don’t know if you’re buying Frankenfoods.

Rep. Geran Tarr, along with co-sponsors Rep. Scott Kawasaki and Rep. Chris Tuck, introduced a bill, HB92, to require labeling of genetically modified food. HB 92 is being heard by the House Resources Committee on Monday, March 9, and Rep. Tarr needs you to provide a letter of support. Can you send Rep. Tarr a letter of support for GMO labels?

Please email a short, from-the-heart letter about why you want the right to know about GMOs to Rep. Tarr at Rep.Geran.Tarr@akleg.gov. She’ll forward it along to the committee members.

Also, the timing is great because this week Rep. Tarr is sponsoring “Alaska Food Security Awareness Week,” with special showings of the movie, GMO OMG, in Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka and Fairbanks. GMO OMG is a film that addresses how GMOs affect our children, the health of our planet, and our freedom of choice when it comes to the foods we eat.

Join us to watch GMO OMG in:

FAIRBANKS – Tuesday, March 10, 5:30 p.m. at the Blue Loon
ANCHORAGE – Wednesday, March 11, 7 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum
SITKA – Thursday, March 12, 5:30 p.m. at the Coliseum Theater, Downtown
JUNEAU – Friday, March 13, noon-1 p.m., Lunch and Learn at the State Capitol, Butrovich Room, GMO OMG film screening, Butrovich Room, 6-8 p.m.

Here is the link to the Facebook invite. If you could share this with your friends, that would be great.

Rep. Tarr was the sponsor of HJR 5, passed in 2013, to oppose GMO salmon. With your help, she can win the right to know about GMOs for Alaska. Please email her your letter of support today at Rep.Geran.Tarr@akleg.gov.

March 7, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Second annual Sitka Herring Festival kicks off March 16 with month of events

You feel it in the air; you see it in the lengthening days; you smell it with the changing tides. That’s right, herring season (and Spring!) is right around the corner. And with the arrival of the herring comes the Sitka Tribe of Alaska‘s second annual Sitka Herring Festival, a month of fantastic event for adults and kids alike.

First, for the adults. This year, we’ve been able to bring an excellent speaker from Stonybrook University in New York thanks to a generous donation from Sealaska. At the community potluck from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at Harrigan Centennial Hall, Dr. Ellen Pikitch will present on herring management and conservation throughout the world. Dr. Pikitch was one of the leading scientists on the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force, is a pioneer in ocean conservation, and is a leader in ecosystem-based management of fisheries. This event will be a potluck style, so please bring a dish to share. We’re very excited to have her here during the herring season.

In addition to the community potluck, there will be a talk at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus from Dr. Shingo Hamada. Dr. Hamada is an anthropologist at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan. His talk will be on Herring Fisheries and Food Culture in Japan. Mark your calendars for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, in UAS Sitka Campus Room 218. This is a partnership from the Natural History Seminar Series with UAS and the Sitka Sound Science Center. All are welcome, but be sure to bring your questions.

But what would a festival be without fun activities for the kids? This year’s festival will also include Yaa Khusgé Yaaw Woogoo — The Knowledge of Herring Camp, hosted by the Sitka School District and the Outdoor Foundation, in partnership with Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Sitka National Historical Park. This is a free, hands-on spring break camp connecting kids to culture that will take place from March 16-20 at Sitka National Historical Park. Middle school youth (grades 6-8) are welcome and encouraged to participate in this free camp. More information can be found at Sitka National Historical Park. Feel free to or pick up an application at the main office of STA or at the Sitka National Historical Park Visitor Center.

For those who like a little competition, there’s the Herring Derby and the Herring Run. Like last year, the Herring Derby will be a fun event for kids and parents. The Derby starts on Friday, March 20, and continues through Monday, April 6. Weigh your biggest fish every day (from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday) at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Resources Production Office at 429 Katlian Street. May the best (biggest) fish win. Also like last year, Sitka Community Schools will host the Herring Run. The run will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, at Harrigan Centennial Hall and will wind through the Totem Park trails before returning to Centennial Hall. Herring swim in schools, so bring your friends.

There will be more fun and educational events during the Festival, including a 4-H class through Sitka Conservation Society, Herring in the Hallway at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School, Discovery Days at the Sitka Sound Science Center, and the showing of a herring film showing at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 27, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, at the Sitka National Historical Park For the dancers among us, there will also be a Herring Hop from 6-11 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Fellowship Hall. The Herring Hop is a fundraiser for the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society. The Herring Festival will also feature a Food Web Cruise on Saturday, March 21, as a fundraiser for another fantastic festival, the Sitka Whalefest.

More info for all these events can be found online at http://sitkaherringfestival.wordpress.com or at our Facebook page. Or you can email sitkaherringfestival@gmail.com or call 747-7168.

• 2015 Sitka Herring Fest calendar of events

March 6, 2015 by Charles Bingham

• Two new books from UAF Cooperative Extension Service encourage kids to eat more veggies

So you’ve got a nice garden but your kids don’t want to eat their veggies? What is a parent to do? Two new books by Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service can help get your kids eating their veggies. And they’re available for free downloads.

Sarah is the Family and Community Development Agent for Southeast Alaska, she travels throughout the region giving cooking and canning classes. She will be back in Sitka in mid-July to test pressure canner gauges and teach several classes yet to be determined.

“Sitka’s 4-H Cloverbuds Club helped me refine a few of the recipes after we had a wonderful time in the kitchen together last year,” Sarah said. “Talk about some fun publications to do research for.” (Note: contact the Sitka Conservation Society for more information about Sitka 4-H clubs.)

The first book is Time for a Kale-abration! Introducing the wonders of kale to Alaskan kids. The free 12-page booklet is all about a garden plant that grows well in Sitka, but one some people have trouble eating. The book features information about the varieties of kale, nutritional info, and several kid-friendly recipes from main courses to desserts.

The second book is The Alaska Kids’ Healthy Harvest Cookbook: Alaska kids grow, cook, eat and love vegetables. This free 12-page booklet lists several common vegetables found in Alaska gardens (kale, carrots, peas, zucchini and potatoes) and provides a variety of recipes using these veggies. It also includes recipes for venison stew and salmon chowder (both heavy with Alaska veggies).

According to the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, “Research shows that helping kids have fun with vegies, even ones they say ‘eeewww’ to, increases the chance they’ll try and like then as they get older. For this reason, our very own Sarah Lewis, Family and Community Development Agent for Southeast Alaska, has written two publications to introduce veggies (especially Alaska Grown ones!) to kids. Time for a Kale-abration and Alaska Kids’ Healthy Harvest Cookbook offer simple and tasty recipes that can be cooked with or by kids, with a menu for a kale-themed party or a harvest festival. Sarah has held local food parties and festivals with 4-H kids and Girl Scouts throughout Southeast Alaska, and now you can hold some with your kids, class, or youth group.”