food businesses

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Sitka Farmers Market ranked as top market in Alaska in 10th annual Farmers Market Celebration

The results are in, and the Sitka Farmers Market ranks as the top market in Alaska and among the leaders nationally in the American Farmland Trust’s 10th annual Farmers Market Celebration.

This summer the Sitka Local Foods Network hosted seven markets, and we continued progress in our goal of rebuilding the market by increasing the number of vendors, launching a kid vendor program, and adding new Alaska Grown products to our farm stand. For the second straight year, Nina Vizcarrondo was the market manager and Charles Bingham was the assistant manager.

The Sitka Farmers Market ranked No. 1 in Alaska in all five categories — People’s Choice, Focus on Farmers, Healthy Food for All, Pillar of the Community, and Champion for the Environment. Sitka also ranked among the top 50 markets nationally in several categories.

Nationally, the top five markets finished in the same 1-2-3 order in all five categories. The top market was Winter Gardens Farmers Market of Winter Gardens, Fla. (for the second straight year); followed by Swarthmore Farmers Market of Swarthmore, Pa.; Charlottesville City Market of Charlottesville, Va.; Clarksville Downtown Farmers Market of Clarksville, Tenn.; and Williamsburg Farmers Market of Williamsburg, Va.

Shoppers were encouraged to use Instagram and join the local food community in saving farmland with their forks, as part of AFT’s “#OnMyFork” social media campaign. Supporters are encouraged to post pictures or videos of their farmers market to Instagram using the hashtag #OnMyFork. We asked people who posted anything about the Sitka Farmers Market to please tag our Sitka Local Foods Network page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork, tag our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SitkaFarmersMarket, and/or share it on our Twitter page, https://www.twitter.com/SitkaLocalFoods. Please use the hashtags #SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork and #SitkaFarmersMarket if you share a photo.

In past Farmers Market Celebrations, sponsored by the American Farmland Trust, the Sitka Farmers Market has been at or near the top among the Alaska rankings. In 2015, the Sitka Farmers Market was the top Alaska market in this contest. In 2016, the Sitka Farmers Market earned Best In Class honors in the contest after finishing second among Alaska markets and cracking the top 50 nationally in a couple of categories. In 2017, the Sitka Farmers Market again was the top Alaska market in the contest.

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Scenes from the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser

It was cloudy in Sitka on Saturday, Sept. 22 (stop the presses), but the rain held off and didn’t dampen the fun during the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka.

Runners and others met under a large tent in Totem Square park, where we also had a small farm stand with fresh, local veggies from St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, music from the Sitka Blues Band, a table with info about Youth Advocates of Sitka, and more.

In recent years, the Running of the Boots has been an annual fundraising event for the Sitka Local Foods Network, whose mission is to increase the amount of locally produced and harvested food in the diets of Southeast Alaskans. The Sitka Local Foods Network operates the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden, the Sitka Farmers Market, and hosts an education program that includes the family garden mentoring project.

This year, Youth Advocates of Sitka helped co-host the event. Youth Advocates of Sitka is an organization that provides mental and behavioral health services for youth, and it also runs a youth-run food-based business (the Smoothie Truck) during the summer.

The Running of the Boots is part of the Season’s-End Celebration festivities hosted downtown by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Cruise Line Association, where Sitka residents were served hamburgers and hot dogs to celebrate the end of the summer.

A slideshow of scenes from the 24th annual Running of the Boots is posted below.

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Thank you for supporting the Sitka Farmers Market during the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market manager Nina Vizcarrondo, left, presents the Table of the Day Award to Andrea Fraga, center, and Kaleb Aldred of Middle Island Gardens during the seventh and final market of the summer held Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. Andrea and Kaleb sold a variety of salad greens, lettuce, turnips, carrots, and other veggies. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, Andrea and Kaleb received a pair of Sitka Farmers Market t-shirts, a Chugach Chocolates bar, and a package of Alaska Flour Company pancake mix, and more. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 24th Running of the Boots costumed fun run on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Race registration opens at 10:30 a.m., with costume judging at 11 a.m. and the race at 11:30 a.m. This event benefits the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka. To learn more, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We hosted our seventh and final Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Sept. 15, with a full slate of booths and a decent crowd. We thank everybody who supported the Sitka Farmers Market this summer, and hope to see you again next year.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling frozen salmon, home-baked bread, jams and jellies, garlic, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a food truck outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

 

Even though the Sitka Farmers Market season is over for 2018, we will have one final farm stand this year. The Sitka Local Foods Network will co-host the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run (with Youth Advocates of Sitka) on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Registration opens at 10:30 a.m., costume judging starts about 11 a.m., and the race starts at 11:30 a.m. We plan to have a farm stand at the event, and YAS will have the Smoothie Truck. The entry fee is $10 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be door prizes and live music, too. This event is part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s annual End-Of-Season Celebration, which includes a community lunch for a donation (which usually goes for school activities).

Unfortunately, we don’t have our usual slideshow of the last farmers market as Sitka Local Foods Network president and event photographer Charles Bingham was out of town at a conference, missing his first Sitka Farmers Market in 11 years.

Again, thanks for supporting us this summer at the Sitka Farmers Market. If you liked the market and want to help us plan the markets for next summer and help on other projects, the Sitka Local Foods Network has openings on its board of directors. To learn more, contact Charles Bingham at (907) 623-7660 or charleswbingham3@gmail.com, or click this link.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers Certified Food Protection Manager class by videoconference Oct. 17 in Sitka

Wednesday, Oct. 17, is the registration deadline for a certified food protection manager workshop being taught on Wednesday, Oct. 3, by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. This is an all-day statewide class that will be offered by videoconferencing to Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Glennallen, Palmer, Unalaska, Juneau, Sitka and Metlakatla.

A certified food protection manager (CFPM) is responsible for monitoring and managing all food establishment operations to ensure that the facility is operating in compliance with food establishment regulations.

A CFPM is knowledgeable about food safety practices and uses this knowledge to provide consumers with safe food, protect public health and prevent food-borne illnesses. Alaska regulations require food establishments to have at least one CFPM on staff.

This course takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (with a half-hour lunch), and participants will take a computer-based exam at the end of the class. The reason the deadline is two weeks before the class is to guarantee course materials reach all the students in time for the class. The cost is $200, and the course will be taught by Julie Cascio of Palmer. Students can register here.

The Sitka videoconference for the class will take place in a room TBA at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. To learn more, contact Jasmine Shaw at the Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 747-9440, or contact Julie Cascio at (907) 745-3677 (Palmer number) or jmcascio@alaska.edu, or Jessica Bird at 907-745-3360 or jrbird@alaska.edu. Note, this class is taught in English but textbooks are available in Korean, Chinese and Spanish, just contact Julie or Jessica at least three weeks before the class.

Also, the ServSafe book ($70) and certification exam ($75) now are available online, if people want to order the book and study independently without taking the class. Just go to this website and purchase the book and exam items.

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Scenes from the sixth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market volunteer Mohan Arul, left (an exchange student from India), presents the Table of the Day Award to Emily Davis during the sixth market of the summer held Saturday, Sept. 1, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. Emily sold a variety of homemade vegan treats. As Table Of The Day Award-winner, Emily received aSitka Farmers Market t-shirt, birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a jar of Barnacle kelp salsa, and a package of Alaska Flour Company flour, and more. The last Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with the last market scheduled for Sept. 15. Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 24th Running of the Boots costumed fun run on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Race registration opens at 10:30 a.m., with costume judging at 11 a.m. and the race at 11:30 a.m. This event benefits the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We hosted our sixth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Sept. 1, with a full slate of booths and a decent crowd. The weather was a bit rainy, so most of the booths were inside.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling home-baked bread, jams and jellies, garlic, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a food truck outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

Our last Sitka Farmers Market of the summer takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, at the ANB Founders Hall.

Also, the Sitka Local Foods Network will co-host the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run (with Youth Advocates of Sitka) on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Registration opens at 10:30 a.m., costume judging starts about 11 a.m., and the race starts at 11:30 a.m. We plan to have a farm stand at the event, and YAS will have the Smoothie Truck. The entry fee is $10 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be door prizes and live music, too. This event is part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s annual End-Of-Season Celebration, which includes a community lunch for a donation (which usually goes for school activities).

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the sixth Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

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Check out the September 2018 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the September 2018 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the Running of the Boots on Sept. 22, our last two Sitka Farmers Markets of the summer, Aug. 31 being the last day to make Pick.Click.Give. donations, and an invitation to join our board of directors. 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).

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Scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market volunteer Hannah Green, right, presents the Table of the Day Award to Gracelynn Friske, left, and Andrew Friske, center, of the FV Adria during the fifth market of the summer held Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. The FV Adria had a few live Dungeness crab at their booth, and customers were directed to their boat in the harbor to purchase crab to take home. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, the Friske family received two Sitka Farmers Market t-shirts, some birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a Chugach Chocolates bar, and a package of Alaska Flour Company cookie mix, and some locally grown beets and salad mix. The next Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with the last market scheduled for Sept. 15. Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 24th Running of the Boots costumed fun run on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Race registration opens at 10:30 a.m., with costume judging at 11 a.m. and the race at 11:30 a.m. This event benefits the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We hosted our fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Aug. 25, with a full slate of booths and a decent crowd. The weather was a bit rainy, so most of the booths were inside.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. We even had a vendor selling live crab (note, they had a few display crab at the market and customers went to the boat to pick their Dungeness crabs to take home). Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling fhome-baked bread, jams and jellies, sea veggies and teas, garlic, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a couple of food truck outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

The next Sitka Farmers Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, at the ANB Founders Hall. There last market of the summer is scheduled for Sept. 15.

Also, the Sitka Local Foods Network will co-host the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run (with Youth Advocates of Sitka) on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Registration opens at 10:30 a.m., costume judging starts about 11 a.m., and the race starts at 11:30 a.m. We plan to have a farm stand at the event, and YAS will have the Smoothie Truck. The entry fee is $10 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be door prizes and live music, too. This event is part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s annual End-Of-Season Celebration, which includes a community lunch for a donation (which usually goes for school activities).

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers local food leader and community food systems training Sept. 5-6

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service is offering local food leader and community food systems training on Sept. 5-6, in conjunction with the Iowa State University Cooperative Extension Service. These two classes will be offered by videoconference in Room 107 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus.

These classes can be taken separately (see details below), or students can take both classes for $85 total.

Local Food Leader Training
Wednesday, Sept. 5, Matanuska Experiment Farm, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
This half-day workshop is for anyone interested in developing our community food systems in Alaska. Participants will leave this program with awareness, understanding and the confidence to work with various organizations, individuals and institutions to develop their local community food systems. The only requirements are that participants are excited about creating strong community food systems in Alaska and have decent internet access. The training is in two parts, one day in person plus four online modules. The cost is $25.

Community Food Systems Training
Wednesday, Sept. 5, Matanuska Experiment Farm, 1:30-5:30 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 6, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
This workshop is geared for those already working in community food systems and seeking additional facilitation or technical skills to support their work. Participation in the local food leader training is preferred but not required. Participants will leave this program with new skills and the confidence to work with various communities to develop place-based food systems and with resources to complete projects related to systemic food system change, including facilitation, strategic planning, community food systems assessment, design thinking and evaluation. Training is in two parts, the two-day workshop in person plus four online modules. The cost is $75.

Register at http://bit.ly/2KmvXxE. For more information or with questions, call Melissa Clampitt at 907-745-3551 or email her at mrclampitt@alaska.edu. You also can get more information about the national program here. Melissa provided more details about the classes, posted below.

Local Food Leader goals and objectives:

Goal: Train local food practitioners in foundational practices for food systems programming including basics of food systems, facilitation, reflection on their personal values as it relates to food systems, skills in coalition development, and evaluation tools. Individuals will leave this program with awareness, understanding, and confidence to work with various different individuals, organizations, and institutions to develop their community food system.

Participants will be able to: • Understand global, local, and community food systems • Organize coalitions that work towards collective community goals and assist in the development of mission, vision, and core values • Manage and facilitate conversations effectively between dynamic groups of people • Utilize an equity lens to food systems development • Understand community processes that include facilitation, project management, partnership, and building successful teams • Provide partners with tools and resources in developing various food systems sectors: production, transformation, distribution, consumption, and resource management (grants, best practices, research, etc.) • Engage and empower community partners to work collectively towards a vibrant, healthy community food system that meets the needs of the participants and community members • Know about tools that exist to create food systems reports • Develop successful teams for success project implementation • Construct plans of work, project scope, and budgets • Understand the use and types of logical models • Create evaluation tools that showcase project outcomes

Community Food Systems goals and objectives:

Goal: Train local food practitioners in the community food systems process including: Community Food Systems Program, coalition development, creating community food systems assessments through mapping and public input sessions, priority project management, design thinking, best practices for community food system projects, and evaluation methods for project and program success. Individuals will leave with new skills and confidence to work with various communities in the development of their place-based community food system, with resources to both engage and complete projects relating to systemic community food system change.  

Participants will be able to: • Understand community food systems and how they relate to larger community and economic development goals • Engage and empower community partners to work collectively toward a community food system • Discern the different sectors of the food system and their impact on community • Utilize Collective Impact and Strategic Doing methods • Develop coalitions working toward collective community goals • Strategically partner with organizations for creative collaborations • Execute community processes including facilitation, project management, partnership, and building successful teams • Develop community food systems assessments through mapping, interviews, and public input sessions • Identify primary and secondary data sources for community food systems assessment and priority projects • Utilize community food system assessments to determine priority projects • Understand evaluation methods for determining collective community projects • Acknowledge the importance of design in community food systems and where it fits within project development • Provide partners with tools and resources for various food systems sectors: production, transformation, distribution, consumption, and resource management (grants, best practices, research, etc.) • Apply concepts and skills learned to develop a place-based Community Food Systems Program in your own University or organization. • Create evaluation methods to understand if projects developed are successful

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Scenes from the fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market manager Nina Vizcarrondo, third from left, and Sitka Farmers Market volunteer Nisreen Jehka, right, an exchange student from Thailand, present the Table of the Day Award to Vivian Mork, left, and Aakatchaq Schaeffer, second from left, of Planet Alaska during the fourth market of the summer held Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. Planet Alaska sold jams and jellies, tinctures and salves made from local plants, and artwork. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, Vivian and Aakatchaq received a Sitka Farmers Market t-shirt, a Sitka Local Foods Network apron, some birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a jar of Barnacle kelp salsa, and a package of Alaska Flour Company Great Alaska Pancake Mix, and some locally grown carrots. This was National Farmers Market Week, so they also received two farmers market pins. The next Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with other markets scheduled for Sept. 1, and Sept. 15. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We celebrated National Farmers Market Week during our fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Aug. 11, with a full slate of booths and a big crowd. The weather even cooperated, clearing up to blue skies after a morning of clouds and threats of rain and heavy wind.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. We also had a visit by a couple of baby goats. Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling frozen and jarred fish, home-baked bread, jams and jellies, sea veggies and teas, garlic scapes, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a couple of food trucks and a hot dog vendor outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

The next Sitka Farmers Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at the ANB Founders Hall. There also are markets scheduled for Sept. 1, and Sept. 15.

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the fourth Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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Check out the August 2018 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the August 2018 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about National Farmers Market Week, Aug. 31 being the last day to make Pick.Click.Give. donations, an invitation to join our board of directors, and info about our 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 new Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@SitkaLocalFoods).