The Sitka Local Foods Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and your donations can help support a variety of projects promoting the growing, harvesting and consumption of local foods in Sitka, Alaska.

Your donation helps us fund the Sitka Farmers Market and St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, among other projects. We offer education opportunities to Sitka residents, so they can learn how to grow their own food and preserve it for the winter. In 2018 we launched a Sitka food business innovation contest, and we continue it as an annual event today. In 2018 we received our first annual grant from the Sitka White Elephant Shop (aka, the White E) that helps us match funds for the WIC (Women, Infants, Children supplemental nutrition program) and SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) users who buy produce from us during the Sitka Farmers Market and other events. In addition to our own programs, we support food projects run by other Sitka organizations, such as the Sitka Kitch, Sitka Community Gardens, Fish to Schools and 4H.

To make a tax-deductible donation, you simply mail a check to: Sitka Local Foods Network, 408 Marine St., Suite D, Sitka, Alaska, 99835. Please let us know if you need a receipt. Our EIN is 26-4629930. You can donate online through our link on the PayPal Giving Fund website (no fees). We also have an online donation site through MightyCause.com, and you can make an online contribution by clicking this link. In addition, we can be found through the online donation site NetworkForGood.com, and you can donate by clicking here (note, NetworkForGood.com handles most of the fundraisers on Facebook).

If you work for one of the businesses, such as Alaska Airlines, that uses the Benevity.com website for employee charitable donations, the Sitka Local Foods Network can accept donations through that site. Click the link above to go to our profile page. Also, some corporations match employee donations, so double-check with your employer to see if your donation will be matched.

In 2016, we launched a sponsorship program, where local businesses and individuals can support the Sitka Local Foods Network at four levels — Grower ($2,500-plus), Harvester ($1,000-$2,499), Planter ($250-$999) and Friend ($50-$249). In 2022, the Alaska Comprehensive Cancer Control Partnership, the Alaska Community Foundation, and the Alaska Food Policy Council have donated at the Grower level. The Sitka Salmon Shares 1 Percent For The Wild Fund, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), ALPS Federal Credit Union, GCI Gives Fund, the Sitka Legacy Foundation, the Alaska Farmers Markets Association, and the White E donated at the Harvester level. Sitka True Value, White’s Inc./Harry Race Pharmacy, Fish and Family Seafoods, the Sitka Employees of First National Bank Alaska,  Sea Mart Quality Foods, and Market Center all donated at the Planter level. Please support our sponsors.

Starting in 2014, the Sitka Local Foods Network has participated in the Pick.Click.Give. program offered through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend program. When you fill out your PFD application online, toward the end you’ll be asked if you want to participate in the Pick.Click.Give. charitable giving program. Click yes, and you’ll be taken to the program’s page where you can search for the Sitka Local Foods Network‘s page. You can make donations in increments of $25 ($25, $50, $75, $100, etc.) to more than 600 registered local and state nonprofit organizations through Pick.Click.Give., including 23 from Sitka. The application period for PFDs is Jan. 1 through March 31 each year, but you can add or make changes to your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31. 

So how does even a small donation help us?

• A $10 donation might allow us to seed one large section of garden with carrots for example, buy two smaller packages of seeds, buy bags for salad mix product, or replace worn-out gloves.
• A $25 donation might replace our broken hoes or other tools, buy sand to mix into dirt, pay gas on the truck for loads of seaweed, buy snacks for volunteer laborers, or buy hoops for low tunnels.
• A $50 donation might buy a sheet of plastic for a hoop, hire the local fundraising sports team to move an apple tree or build a new garden bed, buy row cover or weed-block fabric, or buy potato seed for the upcoming year.
• A $1,000 donation can help support the costs of operating the Sitka Farmers Market or St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden. Or it might help provide matching dollars to WIC and SNAP beneficiaries when they buy produce at the market, or it can provide prize money for the Sitka food business innovation contest we hope to launch in 2018.

We thank you for supporting local foods in Sitka, Alaska. Your donation is greatly appreciated. If you need more information about our organization or a receipt for tax purposes, you can email the Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.