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(DEADLINE EXTENDED) Sitka Local Foods Network seeks manager for 2024 Sitka Farmers Market season

2023 Sitka Farmers Market Manager Anastasia Stefanowicz, second from left, coordinates with volunteers before the July 15, 2023, market.

The Sitka Local Foods Network is seeking a manager to coordinate the 2024 Sitka Farmers Markets this summer. This is a contract position, and the manager receives a small compensation, depending on experience, for his or her contract work organizing the farmers markets this summer. The manager receives a monthly check for the five months from May through September.

We hoped to have our 2023 manager, Anastasia Stefanowicz, back for another season, but she decided to apply for school and will be leaving town before the season ends. We hope to have the new manager hired in time to do some training with Anastasia (and assistant manager Charles Bingham) this spring/summer, and Anastasia may be able to assist for one or two of the early markets before totally bowing out of the job. We thank Anastasia for her service last summer.

This will be the 17th year of operation for the Sitka Farmers Market, which features 6-8 markets during the summer from July through September. Market dates for 2024 haven’t been confirmed yet, but they usually run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on selected Saturdays at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. We have requested June 29, July 13, 27, Aug. 10, 24, Sept. 7, and 21 for the 2024 markets. The Sitka Farmers Market is a fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network.

The farmers markets feature booths from local farmers/gardeners, local fishermen, and artisans and craftspeople. These events are great Sitka gathering places, and we promote local foods and other local goods at the markets. The Sitka Local Foods Network hosts a farm stand at the market, with produce grown at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm and a variety of Alaska Grown value-added food products.

In recent years we made some changes to the market, and those have helped it grow into one of the top markets in the state. We have an experienced assistant manager, who will help ease the load for the manager by doing most of the administrative work while the market manager handles the actual markets. The manager needs to be able to commit to being available for all of the markets this summer. In addition, the market manager needs access to (or a reliable friend with access to) a vehicle with a trailer hitch (we keep our market supplies in a construction trailer) and to the internet.

The manager’s main duties include recruiting and organizing the vendors for each market, hiring musicians and other entertainment, setting up and taking down the market tents and tables, managing the Sitka Local Foods Network farm stand, recruiting volunteers to help sell produce at the SLFN farm stand, helping the assistant manager make deposits and keep track of WIC/SNAP benefit matches, etc. The assistant manager handles market publicity, helps with set up and take down, helps sell produce, takes photos of people and vendors at the market, makes bank deposits, purchases Alaska Grown products to sell at the market (under consultation with the SLFN board of directors), etc. A detailed description of the market manager duties can be found at the link below. The farmers market manager has been a member of the SLFN board in recent years.

Applications should include a cover letter, resumé and three recommendations, and they are due by 10 p.m. on Monday, April 15. The market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market is a seasonal contract position that reports to the Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors via a board liaison. For more information or to submit applications, contact SLFN board president Charles Bingham at 1-907-623-7660, or you can email the SLFN Board at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com (please put “Sitka Farmers Market Manager” in the subject line).

Once we sign a contract with our market manager, we will announce a couple of pre-market meetings for potential vendors. We also will announce a spring class on cottage food business basics (in partnership with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service) for those thinking about starting a home-based food business, and students taking that class will receive a reduction on their first table fee from the Sitka Farmers Market in 2024.

• Description of duties for market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market Manager (2024)

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service to host hybrid Southeast Alaska Master Gardener course

The Southeast Alaska Master Gardener Course 2024 is open for registration. Classes will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. on most Mondays, February 26 to May 13, and two Saturday workshops, from 9 a.m. to noon on April 20 and May 11.

All community members from throughout SE and Coastal AK are encouraged to join!  From Metlakatla all the way up to Kodiak, gardeners will find that the information, expertise and techniques taught will apply to our shared “mild” wet conditions unique to our very Northern NW Pacific Coast.

*All classes will be Zoomed for participants outside of Juneau’s face-to-face classes. Out of Juneau workshops are dependent on local capacity — see registration page for more info*

For this course, UAF Extension and local experts will provide about 40 hours of in-depth training to experienced gardeners and, in return, participants complete 40 hours of service through a range of educational and community projects.  When complete, a rebate for $150 of the $300 tuition will be credited back to you.

All projects and service efforts will be supported. No worries about what you can or can’t do — we have a great Southeast Master Gardener community who wants to help you successfully garden and share your love of gardening with others.

Contact darren.snyder@alaska.edu with any questions. More information also can be found on the registration portal at bit.ly/SoutheastMG

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Micro Grants for Food Security grant application period open until March 15

Grant applications are open for the third round of funding in Alaska Micro Grants for Food Security program. The application period opened on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and they are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 15.

The program offers grants of up to $5,000 for individuals or $10,000 for organizations for a variety of food security needs — such as improving a family vegetable garden, buying a freezer to store meat, fence equipment to protect your garden from critters, building a greenhouse or chicken coop, purchasing subsistence supplies such as fishing nets, etc. Certain items are not eligible, such as firearms or ammunition, so consult the application.

This grant program is part of the last Farm Bill, when Sen. Lisa Murkowski included a section creating a series for annual micro grants for food security in Alaska, Hawai’i, and the Pacific territories (Guam, American Samoa, etc.). The money is part of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) budget, and there is about $2.6 million available for 2024 Alaska projects, which will be distributed by the Alaska Division of Agriculture.

There is a priority given for grant applications from more food insecure communities, and they might pick up more in grant money. There is a 10 percent cost match for organizations winning grants. To learn more go to this link. Click this link for the application portal. Only one application per household. For more information, email dnr.ag.grants@alaska.gov or call 907-761-3885.

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Sitka-based fishing group seeks applicants for crew training program

The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), a Sitka-based fishing group, and partner organization Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) are seeking applicants for the Crew Training Program. Through a safe and well-guided entry-level experience, the program aims to provide young people an opportunity to gain experience in, as well as an understanding of, commercial fishing and its importance to supporting coastal communities. 

Formalized as part of ALFA’s Young Fishermen Initiative in 2015 — in late 2017 ALFA was awarded funds to get more boots on deck statewide. Since 2015, more than 100 apprentices have been trained and placed on local fishing vessels in Southeast Alaska. This crew training program is a way to attract younger entrants into an industry where the average fisherman’s age in Alaska is older than 50. 

Over several years, one of the skipper participants, ALFA Member Eric Jordan of the F/V I Gotta, has brought more than 50 young people fishing as part of ALFA’s Crew Training Program. While on the water, Eric teaches these deckhands the intricacies of commercial fishing and demonstrates sustainable fishing practices to encourage a strong conservation ethic. 

The Crew Training Program aims to 1) provide young people with an interest in pursuing a career in commercial fishing an opportunity to gain experience; and, 2) give young people the opportunity to better understand commercial fishing, the lifestyle it provides, and its important role in supporting coastal communities. All while providing a safe, well-guided, entry level experience.

 In 2024, ALFA and ASFT hope to place several apprentices with local and regional skippers and enhance local employment opportunities. As Executive Director of ALFA, Linda Behnken explains, “With support from numerous funders, we have been fortunate to expand the program to include more boats, crew, and communities. Our goal is to provide young people with a safe introduction to Alaska’s fisheries and to share the curriculum we have developed through our program with fishing groups in other parts of the State and country.” Already, we have shared the Crew Training Program curriculum with several organizations throughout Alaska and coastal organizations throughout the U.S.

Since the inception of the Crew Training Program, ALFA and ASFT have been awarded several grants to support this program from groups including the Edgerton Foundation, the City and Borough of Sitka, the Alaska Community Foundation, OneUSDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, National Sea Grant’s Young Fishermen’s Development Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). ALFA and ASFT are very grateful for the support of these organizations and from our community. According to funders, “the work funded by these grants will result in improved management that strengthens the welfare of fishermen and local communities, promoting healthy fish stocks and healthy fisheries.”

 ALFA and ASFT are seeking applicants for the 2024 fishing season. The crew training application period is currently open and will close March 31.  Applicants must be 18 years or older to qualify. It’s free to apply. Application information can be found at https://www.alfafish.org/crewtraining. Contact Natalie Sattler at 907-738-1286 or program.director@alfafish.org for more information.

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USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service updates its high tunnel funding program

Producing crops in our maritime climate has its advantages, including long daylight hours during the growing season and mild “shoulder” seasons that allow for additional growing time when compared to other places in Alaska. It also has its challenges, of which farmers and gardeners here are acutely aware — too much rainfall and cool temperatures can persist throughout the growing season, impacting crop quality and quantity, and limiting the types of crops that typically can be produced.

Controlling the growing environment by covering the growing area can help improve growing conditions. Row covers or low tunnels can be used to cover individual beds and are both easy to install and maintain, or high tunnels can be used to cover larger areas but are more complex to install and require more active management of both the structure itself and the growing space they cover.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can help farmers and gardeners with identifying opportunities for conservation on their growing operations. NRCS works with individual growers to develop a conservation plan based on their objectives and resource concerns. Staff tailor plans to the site-specific conditions of the land where crops are grown, and develop alternatives for addressing resource concerns. Implementing the recommendations is voluntary.

Once a conservation plan has been completed, eligible lands and landowners may also qualify for financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The program includes funding for a variety of practices that can help improve crop quality and soil health, including low tunnels, high tunnels, nutrient management, crop rotation, cover cropping, and irrigation practices. EQIP contracts reimburse the producers based on current payment rates once the practices are installed to NRCS standards. EQIP applications are accepted continuously, though the first deadline for the current fiscal year’s funding is April 18, 2024.

Additional information about working with NRCS and about the high tunnel initiative can be found at the links below:

Conservation Technical Assistance | Natural Resources Conservation Service (usda.gov), https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/conservation-technical-assistance

USDA Conservation Compliance – Frequently Asked Questions, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/WC-HEL%20FAQ%20final_0.pdf

EQIP-fact-sheet.pdf (usda.gov), https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/EQIP-fact-sheet.pdf

For more information, contact the Southeast Alaska NRCS Field Office located in Juneau at 907-586-7220, (Kathleen.Dilley@usda.gov or Samia.Savell@usda.gov). Click this link for more Alaska office contacts. Click here for the Alaska NRCS page link.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers Certified Food Protection Manager class by videoconference Feb. 27 to Sitka

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will teach a certified food protection manager workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 27. This is a one-day statewide class that will be offered by videoconferencing to Fairbanks, Glennallen, Haines, Homer, Juneau, Klawock, Palmer, Sitka, Skagway, Soldotna, Talkeetna, Tok, Unalaska, Valdez, and Wrangell, plus other locations that may arrange for the class.

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 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and participants will take a proctored computer-based exam at the end of the class. The reason the registration deadline is two weeks before the class is to guarantee course materials reach all the students in time. The cost is $200, and the course will be taught by Julie Cascio of Palmer. Students can register here, and the registration deadline is Monday, Feb. 12 (note, if anybody in Sitka wants to take the class and it’s past the deadline, contact Jasmine Shaw at the number below).

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. Note, this class is taught in English but textbooks are available in Korean, Chinese and Spanish, just contact Julie at least three weeks before the class.

Also, the ServSafe book ($70) and certification exam ($85) 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.

In order to receive your CFPM, you are only required to pass the exam. Taking the training course is optional. If you have previously taken the course and passed the exam, you may wish to only schedule an exam. The UAF Cooperative Extension Service is working to create a network of exam proctors throughout Alaska.

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Check out the February 2024 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the February 2024 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the entry deadline for the seventh annual Sika Food Business Innovation Contest, the opening of the 2024 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application period where you can donate to nonprofits through the Pick.Click.Give. program, an update about how you can support the Sitka Local Foods Network by buying a t-shirt or hoodie from our online store, information about our 2024 sponsorship programs, 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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Sitka Local Foods Network hosts seventh annual Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest

Do you think you have a great idea for a food business or product from Sitka? Do you grow food, fish for food, or cook food in Sitka? The Sitka Local Foods Network is hosting the seventh annual Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest in an effort to spark local food entrepreneurs so we can make more local food available to residents and visitors. The contest entry deadline is Friday, March 15.

This contest will provide two $1,500 kicker prizes to help entrepreneurs launch or expand their food businesses. The contest is open to food businesses and individuals making and selling food products in Sitka, Alaska. All food business ideas must be geared toward getting more locally grown, harvested and/or produced food into the Sitka marketplace through sales in grocery stores, the Sitka Food Co-Op, the Sitka Farmers Market, restaurants, or individual marketing (such as a community supported agriculture/CSA or community supported fisheries/CSF program).

“The Sitka Local Foods Network’s mission is to get more locally harvested and produced food into the diets of Southeast Alaskans,” said Charles Bingham, Sitka Local Foods Network board president. “For the past decade we’ve offered entrepreneurs a chance to sell their produce, bread and fish at the Sitka Farmers Market, grown produce to sell at the market through St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, and provided a garden education program to residents. We think this contest is the next step toward getting more local food into the Sitka marketplace. Our prizes are available to Sitka residents who are sustainably growing, foraging, fishing, or manufacturing food for people in Sitka.”

Last year, our winners were Mike Miller of Field To Fire and Andrea Fraga of Middle Island Gardens. Field To Fire was a new-to-Sitka business that sold pre-packaged meals and sauces at the Sitka Farmers Market, with the occasional cooked-on-site food items, using the model of its company origins to farmers markets in the St. Louis area. Middle Island Gardens is an established Sitka farm that regularly participates in the Sitka Farmers Market.

in 2022, we awarded our two $1,500 prizes to Gretchen Stelzenmuller of Enoki Eatery and to Edith Johnson and Lexi Fish-Hackett for a fish broth project. Enoki Eatery sold musubi, a Japanese-Hawaiian dish of rice and Spam rolled up in seaweed, but with Alaska fish or mushrooms replacing the Spam. Edith and Lexi spent the summer testing recipes and developing their fish broth product.

In 2021, we awarded our $1,500 prize for established business to Jo Michalski of Muddy Mermaid Mudd Pies, which she sells at her Jo’s Downtown Dawgs hotdog/burger cart and to local restaurants. Our $1,500 prize for start-up business went to Nalani James of Eggstravagent, which are eggs from chickens she raised in town and sold to local customers (sometimes at the Sitka Farmers Market).

In 2020, we awarded our $1,500 prize for established business to Andrew Jylkka of Southeast Dough Co., who is baking sourdough bread, as well as making sauerkraut and kimchi. Our $1,500 prize for start-up business went to Levi Adams of Forage & Farm, where he is harvesting and growing mushrooms. Our prizes were determined before the Covid-19 shutdowns, but both business owners found ways to develop and build their businesses during the pandemic.

In 2019, we gave $1,500 prizes to Brittany Dumag of the Castaway food cart in the start-up business category and to Tamara Kyle of Sitka Sauers in the established business category. We also gave a special $250 award to 12-year-old Abigail Ward who entered her Sitka Seasonings business. Brittany made Cuban pork sandwiches (using pork from North Pole) and other food to sell at various places in Sitka, including the Sitka Farmers Market. Tamara planned to ramp up her fermented foods business, but she ended up having some health issues that prevented her from completing her project and she ended up refunding most of her prize money. Abby made spice blends for seafood and other meats, which she sold at the first two Sitka Farmers Markets of 2019 and at other venues.

In our inaugural contest in 2018, we gave a $1,500 prize to Hope Merritt of Gimbal Botanicals in the established business category. We had no entrants in the start-up business category, so no prize was awarded in 2018. Hope used her prize money to hire two interns to help her harvest seaweed and kelp and to help produce her products.

Participants in this contest are eligible and encouraged to enter other food business innovation contests, such as the Path To Prosperity or Symphony of Seafood contests. All participants retain the proprietary rights to their products and ideas. This contest is open to new and existing food businesses in Sitka, but this year we eliminated the separate categories and everybody is competing for the same awards. Student businesses (such as those fostered by Junior Achievement or similar programs) are welcome.

There is a small $25 entry fee for this contest. All participants (business and individual) must complete and submit our contest entry form by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 15, 2024 (by snail mail so it arrives before the March 15 deadline to Sitka Local Foods Network, Food Business Innovation Contest Entries, 408-D Marine Street, Sitka, Alaska, 99835, or by email with the Subject Line of “Food Business Innovation Contest Entries” to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com). Submitting a business plan (up to 20 pages) is recommended, but not required.

Our entry form will have room for you to describe your food business idea in a few paragraphs, but submitting a business plan will give you more room to outline your plans for funding and marketing the idea and will help your overall score. Judging will be based on how your food business idea provides new local food options in Sitka, how novel is your food business idea, how feasible is your food business (can it make a profit and be sustainable), and how professional is your presentation. At some time in late March or early April, the Sitka Local Foods Network may host a pitch presentation, where judges will interview the contest entrants and try samples of the food products. Our judging panel will score your presentation and entry form based on how your idea has a measurable impact on providing local food in Sitka (25%), has the potential for commercialization (25%), provides new employment in Sitka (25%) and fills a need in the Sitka marketplace (25%). We will give bonus points to those businesses that plan to participate in the 2023 Sitka Farmers Market.

In 2022 we made a few changes to the rules. First, since we ended up moving a couple of entries between categories the past two years we decided to eliminate the categories and now everybody is competing for the same two awards. Second, each entry now MUST include a sample, itemized budget showing how the business owner plans to use the prize money. Third, each prize winner will sign a winner’s agreement contract before receiving the prize money that lists a series of benchmarks toward getting the product/service to market that need to be met by a certain date or else all or part of the prize money will need to be refunded to the Sitka Local Foods Network.

The Sitka Local Foods Network reserves the right to reduce or not make an award if the judges determine the applications don’t meet the minimum standards. Purchasing items such as masks and hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of Covid-19 are acceptable uses of prize money. Marijuana edibles are not eligible for the contest.

• Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest Entry Form 2024

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Check out the January 2024 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the January 2024 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the opening of the 2024 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application period where you can donate to nonprofits through the Pick.Click.Give. program, an update about how you can support the Sitka Local Foods Network by buying a t-shirt or hoodie from our online store, information about our 2024 sponsorship programs, 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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Monday’s the day to start filing your 2024 PFD applications and make Pick.Click.Give. donations

As 2023 draws to a close, many Alaskans already are thinking about applying for their 2024 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check in January. As usual, Alaskans can share their wealth with a variety of Alaska nonprofits, including the Sitka Local Foods Network, through the PFD’s Pick.Click.Give. program.

For the past several years, the Sitka Local Foods Network has participated in the Pick.Click.Give. program, which allows people to donate in $25 increments to their favorite statewide and local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations when they file their PFD applications from Jan. 1 through March 31.

When you choose to donate part of your PFD to the Sitka Local Foods Network, you support the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, the Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest, education programs about growing and preserving food, the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen, Sitka Community Gardens, matching dollars at the Sitka Farmers Market for SNAP/WIC beneficiaries, the sustainable use of traditional foods, the Sitka Community Food Assessment, the Sitka Food Summit, and a variety of other projects designed to increase access to healthy local foods in Sitka. Starting in 2023, the Sitka Local Foods Network partnered with Transition Sitka on two food security projects — to update the decade-old data in the 2014 Sitka Community Food Assessment Indicators Report and to build a new community garden at the top of Jarvis Street.

In 2023 Alaskans contributed $3.197 million to 641 Alaska nonprofit organizations, and more than $36.3 million has been donated since the program started in 2009. Some Alaskans choose to donate to just one group, while others may spread several donations around to many groups. There now are 614 total 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations participating in Pick.Click.Give. for 2024 (including multi-location nonprofits), including 27 from Sitka. In 2022, Alaskans donated $39,075 to Sitka-based nonprofits (note, total does not include donations to some nonprofits that are based in multiple cities, also final 2023 totals not available).

So how do you make a donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network through the Pick.Click.Give. program? First, starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1, go fill out your Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application at http://pfd.alaska.gov/. When you get to the section of the application asking if you want to participate in Pick.Click.Give. Charitable Contributions program, click on the PCG link and search for the Sitka Local Foods Network. You also can look for us by using the town search for Sitka.

The Pick.Click.Give. program is available only to people who file their PFD applications online, and not to those who file by mail. Even though you can’t file a new PFD application after March 31, you can go back into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 each year.

You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2024 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408-D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835. You also can donate online by going to our online fundraising page on MightyCause.com, and clicking the Donate button to make an online contribution. In addition, there is an online giving page through the PayPal Giving Fund. If you are trying to make nonprofit donations before the end of the 2023 tax year, you can mail in a check or make an online donation. Please let us know if you need a receipt for tax purposes. For more information about donating, you can send an email to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting our mission of increasing the amount of locally produced and harvested food in the diets of Southeast Alaskans.