The Sitka Local Foods Network is an organization of volunteers who are working together to promote the growing, harvesting and production of local foods. Our organization has a board of directors of between seven and nine members, and we encourage all community members to take part in our projects and events. We welcome volunteers.
The Sitka Local Foods Network meets from 6-7:45 p.m. on the first or second Thursday of the month at the Sitka Public Library Gus Adams Meeting Room. Meeting times are subject to change, so watch the site for schedule updates. Meetings are open to the public, and new volunteers are welcome. We usually select new board members in December and elect officers in January.
The 2022 board members are:
- Charles Bingham, president/communications director
- Vacant, vice president
- Andrea Fraga, co-secretary
- Edie Leghorn, co-secretary
- Amanda Anjum, treasurer
- Laura Schmidt, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm lead gardener
- Nalani James, Sitka Farmers Market manager
- Allison “Al” Staumont
The 2022 Sitka Farmers Market will take place seven times this summer — from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, July 2, 16, 30, Aug, 13, 27, Sept. 10, and 24, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.). This is our 15th season of Sitka Farmers Markets, which is a project that came out of the 2008 Sitka Health Summit.
The St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm lead gardener is Laura Schmidt, and she can be reached at ljschmidt835@hotmail.com. The St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm is located behind the St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church at 601 Lincoln St. (the brown church above Crescent Harbor). This communal garden is where we grow most of the produce sold at the Sitka Farmers Markets during the summer. St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm is recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s The People’s Garden program. The People’s Garden works across USDA and with partners to start and sustain school gardens, community gardens, urban farms, and small-scale agriculture projects in rural and urban areas with the mission of growing healthy food, people and communities.
Our board members also serve as liaisons to ad-hoc committees working on our various projects. Some of the committees include education, Sitka Farmers Market/St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, fundraising, board development, finance, etc.
Here is our address, if you need to send us regular mail:
Sitka Local Foods Network
408 Marine St., Box D
Sitka, Alaska 99835
The email address for the SLFN board is sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com. All board members have access to this email address.
If you have any questions about the website, send an email to Charles Bingham at charleswbingham3@gmail.com.
Sitka Local Foods Network 
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Hi to all!
There will be a local screening of “Hook, Line and Dinner” from the Cooking Channel at Kettleson Memorial Library on Tues, March 6 at 5:30 pm. The Local Food Network and The Running of the Boots are stars of the show.
Come watch and spread the word!
Colette Nelson
We are organic fruit, vegetable and herbs growers and our interest in coming over and setting up there. Could you please send me information on your town. I would like information on your populations, acivities, and economics. Also was wondering if you have farmers market there. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank You,
Tammy Smith
Tammy,
The main focus of the Sitka Local Foods Network is to encourage people to grow more food here in Sitka (or on Baranof or one of our neighboring islands). This is to promote local food security, since about 95 percent (or more) of our food is shipped to Alaska. It also is to promote the health and taste benefits of fresh, locally grown food, which hasn’t been picked weeks before peak ripeness in order for it to be shipped up here. You can find more information on the Sitka Local Foods Network and Sitka, Alaska, by exploring this site and the links down the right side of the page.
Just so you know, there already are two Washington-based farm groups with a big presence in Southeast Alaska. During the summer, Chelan Produce Co. sends a truck to Sitka every other weekend and it sets up in the parking lot of one of our grocery stores (Chelan Produce also visits Petersburg and other communities in Southeast). The Full Circle Farm CSA, located in the Snoqualmie Valley, sends produce boxes each week to many communities in Alaska, including Sitka. Many people involved with the Sitka Local Foods Network take advantage of Chelan Produce and Full Circle Farms products, but it’s only to supplement what we can grow here. As we grow more local food, they plan to wean themselves off the shipped-in food. Our Sitka Farmers Market (which is hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network on alternate Saturdays from July to September) only allows vendors selling locally grown produce, locally harvested fish and locally made arts and crafts.
Charles Bingham
Sitka Local Foods Network Web master
Hello Tammy,
It would be great if you came over here. In answer to your questions we have about 8,600 people in town and lots of visitors especially in the summer.
Sitka is a great small arts town with 106 non profits and groups – the Sitka Local Foods network being just one. People enjoy the great outdoors and a wide variety of community activities, contra dances, special fundraising dinners, open mic. nights etc.
Health care is the biggest employment sector and the biggest employer in town in the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. Next is education then tourism fishing and government. The economy is pretty diverse, the town is also diverse with quite a nice mix. Tlingit, Russian, Filipino, European etc. etc.
Yes we have farmers markets 6 a year, everyother Saturday from July thru September. I hope that answered some of your questions. Take care and thanks for thinking about us.
Cheers, Doug