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• Malinda and Karen’s Bakery wins Table of the Day award from second Sitka Farmers Market

Sitka Local Foods Network boardmember Johanna Willingham, left, presents Karen Christner, center, and Malinda Bonsen, right, of Malinda and Karen's Bakery with the Table of the Day award at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on July 31 at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall in Sitka.

Sitka Local Foods Network boardmember Johanna Willingham, left, presents Karen Christner, center, and Malinda Bonsen, right, of Malinda and Karen's Bakery with the Table of the Day award at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on July 31 at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall in Sitka.

Karen Christner and Malinda Bonsen of Malinda and Karen’s Bakery won the Table of the Day award at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on July 31 at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall.

The two local home bakers were presented with a certificate, $25 cash and a farmers market cookbook by Sitka Local Foods Network boardmember Johanna Willingham. Karen and Malinda baked bread, cinnamon rolls and other desserts to sell at the July 31 market. They also sold some flowers and vegetables from their home gardens.

One vendor at each of the five scheduled Sitka Farmers Markets this season will receive a similar prize. The next markets are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on alternate Saturdays, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11, at historic ANB Hall. We look forward to seeing you at our next market.

A slideshow of photos from the second Sitka Farmers Market is posted below, and a similar slideshow can be found on our Shutterfly site.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so, please go to the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest site run by the American Farmland Trust and vote for the Sitka Farmers Market.

Voting is broken down into four categories based on the number of vendors at each farmers market. The four categories are Boutique (15 or fewer vendors), Small (16-30 vendors), Medium (31-55 vendors) and Large (more than 56 vendors). The Sitka Farmers Market competes in the Boutique category, and we need about two dozen votes to climb into the national top-20 ranking for our category.

Even though the Sitka Farmers Market is in the smallest size category, it was the leading vote-getter for Alaska as of Thursday, July 29. But a flurry of voting that night vaulted HomeGrown Market of Fairbanks (a Medium market) well ahead of us in the battle for the top market in the state. Voting continues through the end of August so we need your votes to close the gap.

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• The Sitka Farmers Market needs your vote in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest

Do you enjoy the Sitka Farmers Market? Do you feel like it helps contribute to the community of Sitka? Then we need your vote in the 2010 America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest, which is a national contest sponsored by the American Farmland Trust.

The contest is designed to raise national awareness about the importance of supporting fresh food from local farms and farmers. Market shoppers will vote to support their favorite farmers market starting June 1 until midnight (Eastern time) on Aug. 31, 2010. People can vote for as many participating farmers markets as they choose, but can only vote for each market once.

At the end of the contest, one small, medium, large, and a new category, boutique, farmers market will win the title of “America’s Favorite Farmers Market” for 2010. The reward for the winning market in each category will be a shipment of No Farms No Food® tote bags, along with other prizes including free printing services from igreenprint and free graphic design services from Virginia based design firm, SQN Communications. The categories are based on the number of vendors the farmers market has. The four categories are Boutique (15 or fewer vendors), Small (16-30 vendors), Medium (31-55 vendors) and Large (more than 56 vendors). The Sitka Farmers Market competes in the Boutique category.

In addition to the national competition in each of the four size categories, there also is a ranking for the top vote-getters in each state. The Sitka Farmers Market was leading for Alaska on July 29, but a flurry of votes moved HomeGrown Market of Fairbanks (which competes in the Medium category) into a commanding lead. We need your help to close the gap.

Voting is simple, just click on the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest logo in the right-hand column of this webpage, or click this link and follow the prompts. Then, after you vote, please spread the word to your friends or post a note on Facebook to let other people know to vote. Your vote shows your support for fresh, locally grown produce.

The Sitka Farmers Market features locally grown produce, locally caught wild seafood, home-baked goods, jams and jellies, arts and crafts, music and fun for the whole family. Our emphasis is on local foods and fun.

By the way, the remaining Sitka Farmers Markets this year are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. We’ll see you there.

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• Second Sitka Farmers Market of the summer takes place this Saturday (July 31) at ANB Hall

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host the second Sitka Farmers Market of the 2010 summer from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). This is the second of this summer’s five big markets that started on July 17 and take place on alternate Saturdays through Sept. 11. The remaining markets will be Aug. 14, 28 and Sept. 11 at ANB Hall. A smaller market will be held on Sept. 25 at the Crescent Harbor shelter as part of the annual Running of the Boots fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network (more details on this event later).

The Sitka Farmers Markets give Sitka residents a chance to buy and sell locally produced food and crafts. The markets feature wild local seafood (fresh, frozen, and cooked, ready to eat), locally grown and harvested fruits and vegetables, baked bread, locally picked berries, jams and jellies, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, locally brewed and roasted coffee, music, local arts and crafts, and a variety of other items gathered or made in Sitka. We emphasize local products and lots of fun.

Because many Sitka residents had concerns about food security and how they could access more local food, the Sitka Farmers Market and Sitka Local Foods Networks started out as community projects that came out of a health priority planning meeting during the 2008 Sitka Health Summit. The markets are sponsored by the Sitka Local Foods Network, Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp No. 1, Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp No. 4, Baranof Island Housing Authority, Sitka Conservation Society, the Alaska Farmers Market Association and the SEARHC Health Promotion and Diabetes Prevention programs.

Vendor fees are just $15 per market. Due to construction in the parking lot, only indoor booth space is available this year. We are the first farmers market in Southeast Alaska to accept WIC coupons. To learn more or to sign up for a table, contact Sitka Farmers Market Co-Coordinator Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (evenings and weekends) or e-mail lawilson87@hotmail.com. Vendor rules, registration forms and other information for potential vendors can be found at this link.

Also, don’t forget that you can vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest, sponsored by the American Farmland Trust, by clicking this link or the logo in the right-hand column and following the prompts. As of Thursday night (July 29), the Sitka Farmers Market was the leading vote-getter among Alaska’s markets participating in the contest, but we only had a five-vote lead over HomeGrown Market of Fairbanks. You can vote through the end of August, but only once per computer.

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• Lori Adams of Down To Earth U-Pick Garden wins Table of the Day at first Sitka Farmers Market

Sitka Local Foods Network Board Member Doug Osborne presents Lori Adams of Down To Earth U-Pick Garden the Table Of The Day award for the first Sitka Farmers Market of the 2010 summer season

Sitka Local Foods Network Board Member Doug Osborne presents Lori Adams of Down To Earth U-Pick Garden the Table Of The Day award for the first Sitka Farmers Market of the 2010 summer season

Lori Adams of Down To Earth U-Pick Garden received the Table of the Day Award from the first Sitka Farmers Market of the 2010 summer season July 17 at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall.

Adams, who has had booths in the Sitka Farmers Market for three years, grows vegetables, flowers, berries and herbs at her garden, located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road. Sitka Local Foods Network Board Member Doug Osborne presented Adams with a certificate, $25 cash and a copy of the South Anchorage Farmers Market Cookbook.

One vendor at each of the five scheduled Sitka Farmers Markets this season will receive a similar prize. The next markets are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on alternate Saturdays, July 31, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11, at historic ANB Hall.

The first market of the season received lots of publicity, including a KCAW-Raven Radio morning show interview (link has audio) with Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane on Friday, July 16, to preview the first market, and an audio postcard on KCAW’s Monday, July 19, newscasts. The Daily Sitka Sentinel also ran a Weekend feature on Friday, July 16, and had a front-page photo from the market on Tuesday, July 20 (password required to view content).

A slideshow of photos from the first market is posted below, and a similar slideshow can be found on our Shutterfly site. By the way, if you haven’t already done so, please go to the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest site run by the American Farmland Trust and vote for the Sitka Farmers Market. The Sitka Farmers Market was the leading vote-getter for Alaska as of Thursday, July 22, but voting continues through the end of August so we need your votes.

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• Sitka Farmers Market’s third season opens on Saturday, July 17, at ANB Hall

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host its third summer of Sitka Farmers Markets with five markets that start on July 17 and take place on alternate Saturdays through Sept. 11. The Sitka Farmers Markets give Sitka residents a chance to buy and sell locally produced food and crafts.

The Sitka Farmers Markets take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 17, 31, Aug. 14, 28 and Sept. 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). The markets feature local seafood (fresh, frozen, and cooked, ready to eat), locally grown and harvested fruits and vegetables, baked bread, locally picked berries, jams and jellies, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, locally brewed and roasted coffee, music, local arts and crafts, and a variety of other items gathered or made in Sitka. We emphasize local products and lots of fun. You also can vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest by following the links at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/.

Sitka Local Foods Network board members Natalie Sattler, left, with parsnips, Lisa Sadleir-Hart, center, with turnips, and Doug Osborne, right, with turnips, show off some of the produce for sale at the final Sitka Farmers Market of 2009.

Sitka Local Foods Network board members Natalie Sattler, left, with parsnips, Lisa Sadleir-Hart, center, with turnips, and Doug Osborne, right, with turnips, show off some of the produce for sale at the final Sitka Farmers Market of 2009.

As a bonus, Medicine For The People, one of the bands in Sitka for this weekend’s Homeskillet Fest 2010, will play during this Saturday’s Sitka Farmers Market.

“The Sitka Farmers Market is like a carnival every other Saturday,” said Kerry MacLane, Sitka Local Foods Network Board President and Co-Coordinator of the Sitka Farmers Market. “It’s a fun community space to enjoy with your family or to meet your friends for fresh coffee and baked goods. There is live music, cooking demonstrations, art, and, of course, fresh veggies, fruit and seafood.”

“In 1970 there were only 340 farmers markets in America, and by 2006 there were more than 4,385. I think this dramatic growth is attributed to the many layers of social and economic benefits these markets offer,” said Doug Osborne, a health educator at the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). “Last year, several participants said Sitka’s markets were among the highlights of their summer.”

The Sitka Farmers Market started as a community project that came out of a health priority planning meeting at the 2008 Sitka Health Summit. This event is sponsored by the Sitka Local Foods Network, Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp No. 1, Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp No. 4, Baranof Island Housing Authority, Sitka Conservation Society, the Alaska Farmers Market Association and the SEARHC Health Promotion and Diabetes Prevention programs.

Vendor fees are just $15 per market. Due to construction in the parking lot, only indoor booth space is available this year. We are the first farmers market in Southeast Alaska to accept WIC coupons. To learn more or to sign up for a table, contact Sitka Farmers Market Co-Coordinator Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (evenings and weekends) or e-mail lawilson87@hotmail.com. Vendor rules, registration forms and other information for potential vendors can be found at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/.

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• Deadline nears for getting food and other entries to the Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines

The deadline for getting your local entries ready for the Southeast Alaska State Fair is this week if you want to take advantage of free shipping from Sitka.

Jeanette Berry, the Sitka town representative for the fair, needs to have all non-perishable entries packed and delivered to the Alaska Marine Lines office in Sitka by the afternoon of Thursday, July 8, so they can be loaded onto the Tuesday, July 13, barge to Haines. She can provide assistance and free shipping on the entries that will be barged to Haines. Perishable items will be flown to Haines, but free shipping may not available on those items (Jeanette is researching to see what shipping rates might be for perishable items).

The Southeast Alaska State Fair takes place from July 29 through Aug. 1 at the Haines Fairgrounds, just outside Haines. The fair provides a regional showcase for agricultural and domestic arts, creative arts and crafts, and the opportunity for educational, cross-cultural and social exchange.

There are exhibits for a wide variety of food items, from big veggies to jams and jellies, even homemade beer and wine. There are hundreds of categories to enter, so click this link and download the 59-page exhibitor’s guide book for information about what types of items can be entered and how the entries should be prepared.

To learn more about how Jeanette can help you ship your entries to Haines, call her at 747-3222 (home) or 1-360-271-8197 (cell). It’s not too late to share your talents with other residents of Southeast Alaska.

2010 Southeast Alaska State Fair exhibitor’s guide book (PDF file)

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

The third season for the Sitka Farmers Market doesn’t open until July 17, but you can vote for us now in the second 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 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 1, and the deadline to vote is midnight EST on Tuesday, Aug. 31 (8 p.m. Alaska time on Monday, Aug. 30). 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.

2010 Sitka Farmers Market schedule

2010 Sitka Farmers Market schedule

By the way, the summer’s first Sitka Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, at Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (235 Katlian St.). Other markets are scheduled for alternate Saturdays — July 31, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11. 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. 25 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. Due to construction this summer, we will not be able to have many of our usual booths outdoors in the ANB Hall/Baranof Island Housing Authority parking lot. We will do the best we can to fit as many booths inside ANB Hall as we can, and we are asking vendors to try and do more with vertical displays. To learn more about reserving booths for the Sitka Farmers Market, contact Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (evenings and weekends) or by e-mail at lawilson87@hotmail.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

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• Down To Earth u-pick garden opens for its second summer of providing fresh produce in Sitka

Sitka resident Lori Adams said the Down To Earth u-pick garden is open for its second summer of producing locally grown vegetables that Sitka residents can pick themselves.

Lori said she has lettuce and spinach available now, as well as rhubarb, white and red radishes, herbs, Egyptian walking onions, and a few plant starts. She also makes gift baskets. Lori is posting updates to the Sitka Local Foods Marketplace page about what in-season produce is available. (This page is available for other Sitka gardeners, commercial fishermen and other local food producers to use to let residents know what food is available.)

The Down To Earth u-pick garden is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays for the rest of the summer, and people can reach Lori at 738-2241 to see what produce is available and what’s about to come into season. The garden is located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road (across from the Mormon church, look for the sign in the photo). Click here to learn more about the Down to Earth u-pick garden.

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• Palmer-based CSA looks into distributing produce boxes to Southeast customers

Baby carrots from the Glacier Valley Farm CSA photostream by South Anchorage Farmers Market Reporter Alison Arians

Baby carrots from the Glacier Valley Farm CSA photostream by South Anchorage Farmers Market Reporter Alison Arians

Glacier Valley Farm CSA, which is based in the Palmer area, is considering expanding its distribution network to include some Southeast communities, including Sitka.

Glacier Valley currently distributes its produce in the Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley and Kenai Peninsula areas. However, a customer service rep named Nelli said the CSA has been receiving a lot of interest from Southeast Alaska. For those not familiar with a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, small farms sell subscriptions or memberships to local residents, who share in the produce of that farm through weekly boxes of fruits and veggies (and sometimes fresh bread). Glacier Valley Farm CSA is owned by Arthur and Michelle Keyes, who also own A & M Farms.

Red cabbage from the Glacier Valley Farm CSA photostream by South Anchorage Farmers Market Reporter Alison Arians

Red cabbage from the Glacier Valley Farm CSA photostream by South Anchorage Farmers Market Reporter Alison Arians

“We are getting a growing list of interested people together, so that when we officially launch our Southeast service we can let folks know,” Nelli wrote in an e-mail.

She encourages people to go to the Glacier Valley Farm CSA website and learn more about the services it provides. On its site, Glacier Valley advertises itself as, “The only year-round CSA produce box program featuring Alaskan vegetables.” When it can, the program uses Alaska Grown produce from some of the better-known Mat-Su Valley farms. But sometimes Lower 48 fruits and veggies do make it into the boxes, especially in the winter when storage veggies may look a bit sketchy.

The CSA’s site lists produce box contents from previous weeks, community pick-up locations, recipes, and how to order information.This link features photos of some of the fruits and veggies Glacier Valley Farm CSA sells at the South Anchorage Farmers Market.

Nelli said if people are interested in regularly ordering a produce box or have any questions, they should e-mail her at customerservice@glaciervalleycsa.com to let her know. She said people also should let her know their home community (Sitka, Juneau, etc.) so she can let people know when there are enough people in that community to start service.

While the Glacier Valley Farm CSA program is not based in Southeast Alaska, there are some people in town who prefer to eat Alaska Grown produce, even if it travels nearly the same distance from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley as produce from Washington-based Full Circle Farm CSA, Chelan Produce and other organizations that serve Sitka. The Sitka Local Foods Network encourages Sitka residents to buy produce grown by Sitka gardeners first, then look within the region before buying produce grown elsewhere.

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• Wealth of resources available to learn about traditional foods

A selection of traditional plant books that are in popular use in Southeast Alaska

A selection of traditional plant books that are in popular use in Southeast Alaska

Living in Southeast Alaska, Sitka residents are exposed to a wealth of traditional foods that grow in our forests or can be found along our beaches. But many Sitka residents aren’t familiar with which plants are safe to eat, and which plants they should avoid. They also aren’t familiar with when are the prime times to gather certain plants.

In recent years, several books have been published to help teach people more about traditional plants and how they can be used. There also have been other groups, such as the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Kayaaní Commission, the Sealaska Heritage Institute and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network, that have posted traditional plant information online, including complete curriculum outlines for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Some of the more popular books used in Sitka (many of these can be found at Old Harbor Books) include:

  • Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants: Alaska, Canada & Pacific Northwest Rainforest: An Introductory Pocket Trail Guide (Volumes 1 and 2) by Carol R. Biggs
  • Wild Edible and Poisonous Plants of Alaska by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (FNH-00028)
  • Collecting and Using Alaska’s Wild Berries and Other Wild Products by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (FNH-00120)

In addition to these books, the Sealaska Heritage Institute has created curriculum resources using the Tlingít and Haida languages that are built around using traditional foods (links on language names go to Grades K-2 versions, but upper-lever courses available on main curriculum link). Examples of the Tlingít and Haida Grade K-2 courses for Plants are linked below as PDF documents, but there also are separate courses for beach greens, berries, cedar trees, hemlock trees, spruce trees, herring, hooligan, salmon, sea mammals, as well as for other cultural knowledge such as canoes, totem poles and Elizabeth Peratrovich.

The Alaska Native Knowledge Network also some curriculum resources posted online for Tlingít, Haida and Tsimshian culture, including some by Sitka teacher Pauline Duncan. The Alaska Native Plant Society has some information on traditional plant use, but the group is geared more toward the Anchorage area. The Alaska Natural History Program publishes an online Alaska Rare Plant Field Guide. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service has online and printed guides available on plant identification, berries and berry use, and even has online tutorials about how to home can jams and jellies.

On a related note, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Diabetes Program will be turning its focus to traditional living classes for 2011. The program will focus on traditional foods and activities to teach its Native patients and other community members how to prevent and manage their diabetes (the SEARHC Diabetes Program operates throughout Southeast Alaska, not just in Sitka). The SEARHC Diabetes Program is looking for resident experts in traditional living (fishing, hunting, gathering, preparation, storage, gardening, etc.) who can help teach these skills to others. The program also wants to learn what types of classes people want to see offered in their communities. For more information, contact SEARHC Health Educator Renae Mathson at 966-8797 or renae.mathson@searhc.org.

Sealaska Heritage Institute Tlingít plant curriculum (Grades K-2)

Sealaska Heritage Institute Haida plant curriculum (Grades K-2)

UAF Cooperative Extension Service Native Plants of Alaska page on devil’s club

Nellie’s Recipes: An ANTHC (Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium) Traditional Food Cookbook for Assisted Living Homes

Alaska Traditional Food Resources (list from Eat Smart Alaska program run by Alaska Division of Public Health)