St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm

by

• Don’t forget to vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in this year’s America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest

The fifth season for the Sitka Farmers Market doesn’t open until July 7, but you can vote for us now in the fourth annual America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. The contest is sponsored by the American Farmland Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving America’s agricultural resources.

To vote, click here and then search for the Sitka Farmers Market by typing in the Sitka Farmers Market name or by using the zip code or state directories. You also can vote by clicking the contest logo at the top of this site’s right column or the contest logo at the bottom of this post. Voting opened on June 22, and the deadline to vote is midnight EST on Monday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m. Alaska time on Sunday, Sept. 2). The online voting form asks what you like best about the market, so be prepared to type something in the box. The top boutique, small, medium and large markets win a large quantity of “No Farms, No Food” totebags to distribute at a market in September, in addition to other prizes to help organizers run a better market. Click here for more information about the contest, and click here for a FAQ page with more details.

By the way, the summer’s first Sitka Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). Other markets are scheduled for alternate Saturdays — July 21 Aug. 4, Aug. 18, Sept. 1 and Sept. 15. There also will be a small Sitka Farmers Market produce booth at the Running of the Boots fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network on Sept. 29 at the Crescent Harbor covered shelter. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the markets.

Our markets feature a variety of vendors with locally grown produce, locally caught fish, baked bread, prepared foods and arts and crafts. We usually have musicians on stage and a table with children’s activities. After construction two summers ago kept us from being outside, this summer we will be able to host many of our usual booths outdoors in the ANB Hall/Baranof Island Housing Authority parking lot. To learn more about reserving booths for the Sitka Farmers Market, contact Johanna Willingham at 738-8336 or by e-mail at johanna.willingham@gmail.com. Vendor rules and other information can be found at this link.

If you have extra produce from your garden, the Sitka Local Foods Network table (outside ANB Hall by the Sitka Farmers Market sign) gladly accepts donations and will buy some produce to sell at its booth. The Sitka Local Foods Network sells produce grown at the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden and a few other local gardens at its Sitka Farmers Market booth. All money raised by the Sitka Local Foods Network booth goes into various projects sponsored by the network — a 501(c)(3) non-profit group — including the Sitka Farmers Market, community gardens, the proposed Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center and other projects.

Local Food and Local Farms

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network seeks assistant manager for Sitka Farmers Market

The Sitka Local Foods Network is seeking an assistant manager for the fifth year of Sitka Farmers Markets this summer. This person not only will assist Sitka Farmers Market coordinator Johanna Willingham, he or she also will assist lead gardener Laura Schmidt at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm in the growing of local produce to sell at the market.

This is a contract position for about 10-15 hours per week. The Sitka Farmers Market assistant manager commits to being available for six markets this summer, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on alternate Saturdays starting July 7 and running through Sept. 15 (July 7, 21, Aug. 4, 18, Sept. 1 and 15) at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall on Katlian Street.

Duties include submitting PSAs to local media about the markets and work parties at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm. The assistant manager will recruit local musicians to play at the markets, and will help set up and clean up before and after the markets. He or she also will help harvest at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm before and during the markets, as needed.

For more information about the position, contract Johanna Willingham at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com or at 1-706-207-3184. More information can be found in the attached document. The deadline to apply is Friday, June 1, and the position starts on June 15.

• Job description for 2012 Sitka Farmers Market assistant manager position

by

• St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm hosts second work party to prepare for spring planting and a summer of fresh veggies

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host its second work party of the season from 2-4 p.m on Saturday, April 21, at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (located behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street, above Crescent Harbor).

Produce grown at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm is sold during the Sitka Farmers Markets to help fund Sitka Local Foods Network projects throughout the year.

Our first work party on April 14 was an absolute success (see photo slideshow above), and we’d like to continue to build on this momentum. We’ll continue with bed building, adding amendments to the soil, laying down wood chips to prevent future weeds and lots more.  Tools and teaching will be provided.  Dress for the weather.

For more information, contact St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm lead gardener Laura Schmidt at 623-7003 or 738-7009. We will need a lot of bodies for this work party. We will start planting the gardens in May, once we’re past the final freeze.

by

• Help prepare St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm for spring planting and a summer of fresh veggies

St. Peter's Fellowship Farm sign

St. Peter's Fellowship Farm sign

It’s still a little cold to be planting outdoors, but it’s warm enough to start getting the garden ready.

There will be a special work party from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, to expand our gardens at the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden (located behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street). Produce grown at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm is sold during the Sitka Farmers Markets to help fund Sitka Local Foods Network projects throughout the year.

During this special work party, workers are needed to help add space to the garden. We will need people to use pick-axes to clear out salmonberry roots so we can prepare new garden beds. We also need people to shovel dirt and sift soil, among other jobs.

For those wanting to do lighter work, we need people to weed, mulch and spread fertilizer (seaweed) on the existing garden beds. Most garden tools will be provided, but we will need people to bring shovels and pick-axes if they have them.

For more information, contact St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm lead gardener Laura Schmidt at 623-7003 or 738-7009. We will need a lot of bodies for this work party. We will start planting the gardens in May, once we’re past the final freeze.

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors to meet on Monday, Feb. 6

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured are Johanna Willingham-Guevin and Tom Crane.

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured are Johanna Willingham-Guevin and Tom Crane.

The Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors will hold its monthly meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Building, 408 Marine St. (parking lot is off Spruce Street).

Key topics for the meeting include planning for the Let’s Grow Sitka on March 11, a recap of the Jan. 21 Sitka Local Foods Network annual meeting and potluck, an update on the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center, an update on the Sitka Food Co-op, an update on recent work by the Alaska Food Policy Council, an update on the Sitka Composting Project (Sick-a-Waste), our new logo and t-shirts, planning for spring planting at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm and other community gardens, planning for upcoming events such as the Sitka Farmers Markets on alternating Saturdays from July 7-Sept. 15, and more.

Board meetings are free and open to the general public, usually once a month (except summer). We always welcome new volunteers interested in helping out with our various projects. For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or 747-7888.

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network hosts annual meeting and potluck dinner on Saturday, Jan. 21

Please join the Sitka Local Foods Network for its annual meeting and potluck dinner at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking lot is off Spruce Street).

Join us as we honor our four years of existence and prepare for our fifth year. During this time, the Sitka Local Foods Network has worked on several initiatives — creating the Sitka Farmers Market, building St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, hosting the Let’s Grow Sitka! garden education event, and more. We supported projects to plant more fruit trees around Sitka, get more local fish served in school lunches and increase Sitka’s ability to compost, and we are working toward starting the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center. We also received a 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the IRS, so people can make tax-deductible gifts to help fund our work.

Our annual meeting and potluck is open to the public, and all Sitka residents are welcome to attend. We will feature local and slow foods, but we really value your attendance. This is our opportunity to say thank you to those who have helped us grow, and it is your chance to learn more about what we’re doing and how you can help.

As we enter 2012, Sitka and the rest of Alaska face some serious food security issues. According to a recent survey by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, the weekly cost for food for a family of four in Sitka has gone up 44 percent over the past five years. With rising fuel prices, this trend does not figure to change in the near future. Sitka still imports about 90-95 percent of its food from the Lower 48 or other countries, which means transportation is a big part of our food cost. The Sitka Local Foods Network is looking for input from Sitka residents about how we can work to improve Sitka’s food security. We also are working with the Alaska Food Policy Council, which is a statewide organization working on food security issues.

So mark your calendar to attend our annual meeting and potluck dinner at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 408 Marine St. For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors to meet on Monday, Jan. 9

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured is Tom Crane.

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured is Tom Crane.

The Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors will hold its monthly meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Building, 408 Marine St. (parking lot is off Spruce Street).

Key topics for the meeting include planning for the Jan. 21 Sitka Local Foods Network annual meeting, a recap of the recent SLFN board retreat, an update on the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center, an update on the Sitka Food Co-op, an update on recent work by the Alaska Food Policy Council, an update on the Sitka Composting Project, our new logo and t-shirts, planning for upcoming educational events such as Let’s Grow Sitka on March 11 and the Sitka Farmers Markets on alternating Saturdays from July 7-Sept. 15, and more.

Board meetings are free and open to the general public, usually once a month (except summer). We always welcome new volunteers interested in helping out with our various projects. For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or 747-3475.

by

• Potato dig and vegetable picking parties on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9-10, at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm

A group of kids harvests garlic during an Aug. 12, 2011, work party at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm.

A group of kids harvests garlic during an Aug. 12, 2011, work party at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host two family friendly harvests of root vegetables at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street).

The picking parties are to help get root vegetables ready to sell at the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). This is the last full Sitka Farmers Market of the summer (a small market will be held Sept. 24 at Crescent Harbor shelter in conjunction with the Running of the Boots fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network).

On Friday, volunteers will help St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm lead gardener Laura Schmidt dig up potatoes and pull root crops such as carrots, turnips and garlic. The rest of the crops, such as lettuce, kale, rhubarb and other veggies, will be harvested on Saturday. The picking parties are family friendly and kids are encouraged to participate. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for the weather. Work gloves and garden tools are available at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm.

For additional information, contact Laura Schmidt at 623-7003 or 738-7009.

Also, any family gardeners with extra produce to donate or sell during the Sept. 10 Sitka Farmers Market, please contact Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (nights, weekends) or lawilson87@hotmail.com. Due to the recent rainy weather, some of our usual gardeners are low on produce for the markets.

by

• Work party and veggies available Saturday at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm

St. Peter's Fellowship Farm sign

St. Peter's Fellowship Farm sign

Carrots, kale, lettuce, potatoes and other vegetables will be available for a donation from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street).

People are encouraged to stick around and help out at the regular Saturday work party at the same time. Volunteers are needed to help weed and pick slugs from the gardens. Feel free to stick around, tend the garden and enjoy the fellowship of people making local food happen in Sitka.

Call Lisa Sadleir-Hart for more information at 747-5985.

by

• Work crew needed to help build a new potato bed Wednesday at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm

Photo courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service Image Gallery / Photo by Scott Bauer -- The average American eats 142 pounds of potatoes a year, making the tubers the vegetable of choice in this country

Photo courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service Image Gallery / Photo by Scott Bauer -- The average American eats 142 pounds of potatoes a year, making the tubers the vegetable of choice in this country

Volunteers are needed to help build a new potato bed from 4:30-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street).

Lead gardener Laura Schmidt wants the bed in place in preparation for the 2012 growing season. Many hands make light work, so please join us on Wednesday to help prepare the ground for the new bed.

To learn more, contact Laura at 623-7003 or 738-7009.