September 16, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Registration deadline Wednesday, Sept. 18, for upcoming certified food protection manager workshop on Oct. 18

Wednesday, Sept. 18, is the registration deadline for a certified food protection manager workshop being taught on Wednesday, Oct. 2, by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. This is an all-day statewide class that will be offered live in Fairbanks and Palmer, and by videoconferencing to Sitka, Nome, Kodiak and Dillingham.

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 9 a.m. to 5 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 $175, and the course will be taught by Kate Idzorek of Fairbanks and Julie Cascio of Palmer. Students can register here.

The Sitka videoconference for the class will take place in Room 110 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. To learn more, contact the Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 747-9440, or contact Kate Idzorek at 907-474-5391 (toll-free, 1-877-520-5211) or kjidzorek@alaska.edu in Fairbanks.

September 16, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• 19th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run raises funds for Sitka Local Foods Network

It’s time to dig your XtraTufs out of the closet and gussy them up. The 19th annual Running of the Boots begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the big tents near St. Michael of the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Lincoln Street. This year’s event features a new meeting point and course, allowing the race to be a bigger part of the End-of-Season Celebration festivities hosted downtown by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Cruise Line Association.

“I’m excited about the Running of the Boots joining the End-of-Season folks under one big tent … literally,” race organizer Kerry MacLane said. “We’ll have music, hot chocolate, and folks can enjoy a complimentary lunch after oodles of prizes have been awarded.”

So what is the Running of the Boots? It’s Southeast Alaska’s answer to Spain’s “Running of the Bulls.” Sitkans wear zany costumes and XtraTufs — Southeast Alaska’s distinctive rubber boots (aka, Sitka Sneakers). The Running of the Boots raises funds for the Sitka Local Foods Network, a nonprofit organization that hosts the Sitka Farmers Market and advocates for community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners.

The Running of the Boots is a short race for fun and not for speed, even though one of the many prize categories is for the fastest boots. Other prize categories include best-dressed boots, zaniest costume, best couple, best kids group and more. The new course starts by St. Michael’s Cathedral, and heads down Lincoln Street toward City Hall, takes a left on Harbor Drive and loops up Maksoutov Street and back to the starting line.

The entry fee for the Running of the Boots is $5 per person and $20 per family, and people can register for the race starting at 10 a.m. Costume judging starts about 10:30 a.m., and runners hit the streets at 11 a.m. Local merchants have donated bushels of prizes for the costume contest, including a flightseeing trip for three, toys, gift certificates and pies. The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a Sitka Farmers Market booth with fresh veggies for sale. The booth takes debit cards, WIC vouchers and Quest cards.

“This is a really fun way to advance the Sitka Farmers Market and our other Sitka Local Foods Network projects,” MacLane said. “This is a must-see annual change-of-the season tradition in Sitka.”

To learn more about the Running of the Boots, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or 747-7888, or by email at maclanekerry@yahoo.com. Historical information about the race (through 2005) can be found online at http://www.runningoftheboots.org/, and info about the Sitka Local Foods Network and more recent Running of the Boots events (2008-12) is online at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/. Also, like our new Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork.

September 16, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Local Foods Network named Alaska’s lone finalist in 50 States for Good contest

The Sitka Local Foods Network has been selected as the Alaska representative in the fifth annual 50 States for Good contest, where one representative nonprofit organization from each state and the District of Columbia compete for a chance to win $10,000 from Tom’s of Maine.

Supporters of the Sitka Local Foods Network can take part in a public vote to help the organization share in $150,000 total grants from Tom’s of Maine (15 awards of $10,000 each). Voting is simple, just go to http://www.50statesforgood.com/, and follow the instructions. People can vote once per day for one nonprofit finalist during the period from 8 a.m. Alaska time (noon Eastern) on Monday, Sept. 16, through 4 p.m. Alaska time (8 p.m. Eastern) on Tuesday, Oct. 15. A free Facebook account is required for voting, and people who do not already have an account can go to https://www.facebook.com/ to create one.

The 50 States for Good program was created to help uncover local nonprofit groups that address a variety of community needs and engage volunteers to get the work done. This year’s finalists offer a diverse range of community services, such as improving access to local foods, working with people who have autism, helping street teens, supporting the needs of low-income residents, providing food and hygiene products to the homeless, building playgrounds, and more.

The Sitka Local Foods Network works on a variety of food-oriented projects in Sitka, a community of 9,000 people on Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska. Even though there is no commercial agriculture on the island, the Sitka Local Foods Network created the Sitka Farmers Market, which sells produce grown at the organization’s St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden and from family backyard gardens. The Sitka Local Foods Network also is trying to build the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center, which will be a commercial greenhouse providing local produce and bedding plants for residents, and an education center teaching local students about gardening. Education is another focus of the network, which hosts the annual Let’s Grow Sitka garden exhibition in March and brings nationally known speakers to town to teach about gardening, seeds and greenhouses.

“We are honored to be chosen to represent Alaska in the 50 States for Good competition,” said Lisa Sadleir-Hart, president of the Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors. “If we are successful, we hope to further food production in Sitka using a host of strategies, such as creating an additional community garden, offering seed money to the community greenhouse and education center working group, or helping the school district jump start a school-based garden program. An award of $10,000 from Tom’s of Maine can really help Sitka make strides in improving its local food system.”

The 51 finalists (one from each state plus the District of Columbia) were selected from a pool of about 1,100 nominated nonprofit organizations by an independent panel of judges that included Huffington Post columnist Lisa M. Dietlin, Cool People Care president Sam Davidson, assistant features editor covering social good for Mashable.com Matt Petronzio, and The Vampire Diaries star and nonprofit founder Ian Somerhalder.

“A desire to do more for a favorite can often be hindered by a lack of time to volunteer or the financial means to make a donation,” said Susan Dewhirst, goodness programs manager at Tom’s of Maine. “The 50 States for Good program makes it easy for anyone to have an impact and directly help organizations that are bringing goodness to communities in a variety of creative and inspiring ways.”

For several decades, Tom’s of Maine, a natural products company focused on oral and personal care products, has donated 10 percent of its profits back to the community and encourages its employees to use 5 percent (12 days) of their paid time off to volunteer every year. For more information, visit http://www.tomsofmaine.com/ or like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TomsofMaine. Voting information will be at both links.

To learn more about the Sitka Local Foods Network and some of its community projects, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/ or like the organization’s new Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork.

September 13, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka shows off its gardens to International Master Garden Conference cruise

Some 1,100 participants in the 2013 International Master Gardeners Conference were in Sitka on Wednesday, Sept. 11, when the Holland America Lines cruise ship Westerdam docked in town.

As part of the visit, the Sitka District office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service prepared a walking tour for the conference participants to show off local gardens and other highlights. The walking tour was a unique opportunity to showcase the challenges and methods used to garden in Sitka as well as interact with Master Gardeners from various locales. In addition to visiting Sitka, the Sept. 7-14 cruise took the conference from Seattle to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria (British Columbia) and back to Seattle.

The Sitka walking tour started at Harrigan Centennial Hall and included a stop to look at apple trees by KCAW-Raven Radio, a stop at the Sitka Pioneer Home to look at the roses and other gardens, a stop at the Russian Bishop’s House (where kindergarten students from nearby Baranof Elementary School plant vegetables in the spring and harvest them in the fall when they return as first-graders). From there the walking tour went to St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm (where the Sitka Local Foods Network grows veggies to sell at the Sitka Farmers Markets), then it was on to the Sheldon Jackson Museum and on to Sitka National Historical Park. The final two stops were at a garden on the Sheldon Jackson Campus (between the Yaw Art Center and Hames Athletic and Wellness Center), and on to the US Geological Survey Geomagnetic Station and UAF Cooperative Extension Service demonstration plots (at the site of the original USDA Sitka Experimental Farm (Page 7), which was the first in Alaska and had more than 100 acres of crops from 1898-1931).

Also at Harrigan Centennial Hall, Sitka filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein hosted a couple of showings of her movie “Eating Alaska,” which examines the food choices one makes, especially when they live in Alaska where produce can be marginal but fish and game are widely available.

The Master Gardener (MG) program started in Seattle in the 1970s as a way to extend the horticulture resources of Washington State’s land grant university to the urban horticulture public in Seattle. The Master Gardeners receive 40 hours of training, similar to a basic three-credit-semester-hour, college-level horticulture class.

In return for this low-cost education the MG participants provide 40 hours of service to their community using Cooperative Extension information resources from their home states. The MG service may be in food gardening, pest management, youth gardening, tree and landscape care, public gardens, etc. Since the initial Seattle project, Master Gardener programs now exist in every state in the U.S., as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. A Master Gardener course was taught in Sitka in April at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus.

• Sitka garden walking tour map for 2013 International Master Gardeners Conference

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

September 12, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Fish to Schools serves up a coho lunch Wednesday to start off the school year

The Fish to Schools program kicked off its 2013-14 school year with a coho salmon lunch (baked with salt and pepper) on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Sitka High School, Blatchley Middle School and Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School.

The Fish to Schools program is a project that came out of the 2010 Sitka Health Summit, and now is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society. Local commercial fishermen have been donating fish to the program this summer, helping sustain the program through the school year.

The fish lunches are served at Sitka High School, Blatchley Middle School and Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. The students at Pacific High School (Sitka’s alternative high school where the students do the cooking) and Mount Edgecumbe High School also have Fish to Schools, but they are served on a different schedule at those schools. A schedule for upcoming Fish to Schools lunches is posted to the right.

For more information about the Fish To Schools program, contact Tracy Gagnon at the Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 or tracy@sitkawild.org. Also, the Stream to Plate program, a companion program of Fish to Schools, recently was featured on Delish.com in a feature about “Cool Cafeterias: The New Wave of School Lunch.”

September 11, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• A 2010 Sitka Health Summit project starts to bear fruit

One of the 2010 Sitka Health Summit community wellness projects was to plant a bunch of apple, crabapple and cherry trees around town as a way to provide fresh fruit for people as they wander about Sitka.

When we planted the trees, we knew it would take a couple of years before we started seeing any fruit. Several of the trees were planted on public land, with several Sitka residents also buying the saplings to plant at their homes and offices.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, a couple of the trees planted in front of the historic Cable House (home of the KCAW-Raven Radio station and the Larkspur Café) were full of apples, even though a couple of weeks earlier it didn’t appear these smaller trees had any fruit. It’s nice to see some of the trees are producing.

September 7, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka gears up for cruise visit from International Master Gardeners Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 11

Sitka will be host to 1,100 participants in the International Master Gardeners Conference when the Holland cruise ship Westerdam arrives in port on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The ship is due in port from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to assist with local, non-commercial activities related to the conference‘s Sitka stop. Those who have completed a Master Gardener course are especially encouraged to participate. This is a unique opportunity to showcase the challenges and methods used to garden in Sitka as well as interact with Master Gardeners from various locales.

In return for this low-cost education the MG participants provide 40 hours of service to their community using Cooperative Extension information resources. The MG service may be in food gardening, pest management, youth gardening, tree and landscape care, public gardens, etc. Since the initial Seattle project, Master Gardener programs now exist in every state in the U.S., as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. A Master Gardener course was taught in Sitka in April

For more information or to sign up for a volunteer time slot, please contact the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service Sitka District office at 747-9440 .

September 7, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2013 summer

PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK
Sitka Farmers Market Interim Manager Garrett Bauer, left, and Co-Manager Francis Wegman-Lawless, right, present the Table Of The Day Award to Taylor Ihde, center front, (with Taylor’s mother, Jennifer Ihde, center back), at the fifth market of the season on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in Sitka. Taylor makes homemade earrings and other jewelry, which she has been selling at the Sitka Farmers Markets for a couple of years. She received a gift bag with fresh produce, fand a certificate and a copy of the Alaska Farmers Market Cookbook. This is the sixth year of Sitka Farmers Markets, hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network. The sixth and final market of the season is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St. For more information about the Sitka Farmers Markets and Sitka Local Foods Network, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/. Also, don’t forget the Sitka Local Foods Network will host the annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 (registration at 10 a.m. and costume contest at 10:30 a.m.), at Crescent Harbor Shelter. The Running of the Boots is a fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network. Some late-season vegetables and other items will be for sale at this event.

Rain was the reality of the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer, on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.).

We had a decent crowd, despite the rain, though most people spent their time indoors sampling the wares of those booths.

The sixth and final Sitka Farmers Market of the season takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at ANB Founders Hall. A slideshow with scenes from the fifth market is below.

Also, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the 19th annual Running of the Boots, a costumed fun run that serves as a fundraiser for the Sitka Local Food Network. The Running of the Boots will be at 11 a.m. (registration at 10 a.m., costume contest about 10:30 a.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Crescent Harbor Shelter (there is an entry fee). Some late-season vegetables will be available for sale at this event. To learn more, watch this site for updates.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

August 28, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Local Foods Network to host board of directors meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3 (Meeting changed to Monday, Sept. 9)

The 2013 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors, from left, Jack Ozment, Beth Kindig, Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Tess Giant, William Giant, Linda Wilson, and Milt Fusselman. Not pictured are Cathy Lieser and Maybelle Filler.

Now that the summer is winding down, the Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Sitka Economic Development Association (SEDA) conference room (329 Lincoln St., Suite 212, in the Troutt Building, enter off Lincoln Street using the stairway next to Seasons Cards and Gifts). Please note that this is a change from our normal board meeting location, now that we have an expanded board of directors. (NOTE, due to schedule conflicts and illness, this meeting was postponed until Monday, Sept. 9, at the same times and location)

This is the board’s first monthly meeting since June, and the meeting is expected to last until 8:30 p.m. A preliminary budget meeting takes place at 6:15 p.m. Board president Lisa Sadleir-Hart will lead the meeting.

Key topics include the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, Blatchley Community Gardens, the Sitka Community Food Assessment, the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center, the Alaska Food Policy Council, the Running of the Boots fundraiser on Sept. 28 and more.

Board meetings are free and open to the general public. We always welcome new volunteers interested in helping out with our various projects.

August 23, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Scenes from the fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2013 summer

PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK
Sitka Farmers Market Interim Manager Garrett Bauer, left, and Co-Manager Francis Wegman-Lawless, right, present the Table Of The Day Award to Peter Apathy and Carole Knuth of Reindeer Redhots at the fourth market of the season on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in Sitka. Peter and Carole sell Alaska-made reindeer and all-beef hot dogs and Polish sausage, with sauerkraut and chili sides from their cart, which is open at the corner of Lincoln and Lake streets on most big cruise ship days (http://reindeerredhots.com/). They received a gift bag with fresh produce, fresh rhubarb jam and a copy of the Alaska Farmers Market Cookbook. This is the sixth year of Sitka Farmers Markets, hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network. The next market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St. For more information about the Sitka Farmers Markets and Sitka Local Foods Network, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/.

The fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2013 summer took place on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St.

For the first time this summer, we had to deal with a bit of rain during the market, but the downpour was only temporary. We still had a decent crowd, and there were even a few new booths.

The fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the season takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at ANB Founders Hall. To learn more, watch this site for updates. A slideshow with scenes from the fourth market is below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.