March 12, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center project to hold monthly meeting on Friday, March 14

Former Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane, left, and Sprucecot Gardens Owner Judy Johnstone pose in front of one of the high tunnels recently erected on Judy’s land on Peterson Street. (Photo Courtesy of KCAW-Raven Radio)

Former Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane, left, and Sprucecot B&B and Gardens Owner Judy Johnstone pose in front of one of the high tunnels recently erected in 2013 on Judy’s land on Peterson Street. (Photo Courtesy of KCAW-Raven Radio)

The Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center project will hold its next meeting at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, March 14, at the Sprucecot B&B and Gardens at 308 Peterson St. This meeting is open to the public.

Judy Johnstone, who owns Sprucecot B&B and Gardens, is hosting the meeting. Reports will be heard from committee members on possible building sites, including the Blatchley Community Gardens site and the old float plane turnaround area on Halibut Point Road.

The Sitka Local Foods Network is supporting this community greenhouse project, but is not coordinating it.

For more information, call Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

March 5, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Support the Sitka Local Foods Network and possibly double your dividend

Many Alaskans donate to their favorite nonprofit groups, including the Sitka Local Foods Network, through the Pick.Click.Give. program that’s part of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application. Now 10 lucky Alaskans who donate through Pick.Click.Give. program have a chance to win through the Double Your Dividend Sweepstakes, announced on Tuesday, March 4.

Here’s how the Double Your Dividend Sweepstakes works. Those Alaskans who choose to make a Pick.Click.Give. donation to one of the more than 500 qualifying 501(c)(3) Alaska nonprofit organizations (22 from Sitka, including the Sitka Local Foods Network) when they file their PFD application will be entered into the sweepstakes. All non-anonymous donations made before the PFD application due date of March 31 will count for the sweepstakes. On Sept. 15, the names of 10 lucky Alaskans will be drawn and the winners will be announced on Oct. 1. The complete rules can be found here, http://www.pickclickgive.org/index.cfm/double-your-dividend/.

One of the reasons for the sweepstakes is a technical glitch in January that prevented a lot of Alaskans from being able to make Pick.Click.Give. donations when they filed their PFD applications. The sweepstakes is an incentive to get those Alaskans who didn’t make Pick.Click.Give. donations to go back into their PFD applications and add some. The 2014 PFDs should be much bigger than the PFDs from the last couple of years, which makes this a great time to share the wealth with nonprofit organizations in your communities.

This is the first year the Sitka Local Foods Network is participating in the Pick.Click.Give. program, which allows people to donate in $25 increments to their favorite statewide and local nonprofit organizations. 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, Blatchley Community Gardens, education programs about growing and preserving food, 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.

The Pick.Click.Give. program only is available 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 into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 (but you won’t be entered into the sweepstakes unless you’d made a donation before March 31).

If you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2014 PFD, you still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408 Marine St., Suite D, Sitka, Alaska, 99835. Our EIN is 26-4629930. 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF3av66fXE8

February 5, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• State fixes glitch to Pick.Click.Give. program with online Alaska PFD application

The state has fixed a recent glitch in the online application that kept Alaskans from making their Pick.Click.Give. donation selections when they filed for their 2014 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks. Applicants now can go back into their PFD applications and select or fix their Pick.Click.Give. donation picks.

In an email to participating Pick.Click.Give. nonprofit organizations (including the Sitka Local Foods Network) program manager Heather Beaty wrote:

If you continue to receive reports of problems in completing the PFD application or making Pick.Click.Give. donations, please contact me (at hbeaty@pickclickgive.org) so we can follow up with the state. The PFD Division will send an email to Alaskans who experienced difficulty with the application process to let them know they can go back and add Pick.Click.Give. donations. Alaskans who had trouble with the PFD website can return to the PFD homepage and use the green “Add or Change Your Pick.Click.Give. Donation” button to make a donation.

This is the first year the Sitka Local Foods Network will participate 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, Blatchley Community Gardens, education programs about growing and preserving food, 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.

You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2014 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408 Marine St., Suite D, Sitka, Alaska, 99835. Our EIN is 26-4629930. 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.

February 3, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center project to hold meeting on Friday, Feb. 7

Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane, left, and Sprucecot Garden Owner Judy Johnstone pose in front of one of the high tunnels recently erected on Judy’s land on Peterson Street. (Photo Courtesy of KCAW-Raven Radio)

The Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center project will hold its next meeting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, at the Sprucecot B&B and Gardens at 308 Peterson St. This meeting is open to the public.

Judy Johnstone, who owns Sprucecot B&B and Gardens, is hosting the meeting, where participants will discuss the possibility of her donating her high-tunnel greenhouse to the project and the possible use of her garden site for community gardeners. She will provide refreshments.

In addition, committee members will report on the meeting we had with some of the gardeners from the Blatchley Community Gardens and research done on other sites. The new “mystery” sites are the former tank farm overlooking Indian Village and the two lots owned by Tess Hayburn (from the former Lane 7 eatery to the Back Street site, where her house was destroyed by a small plane that crashed into it a few years ago).

Please bring your creativity to the table, but try to keep your comments concise and on topic, as the meeting will end at 6:30 p.m. (i.e., no swapping of gardening stories … sorry!). Folks are welcome to stay and socialize after the meeting and swap all the stories they want. The Sitka Local Foods Network is supporting this project, but is not coordinating it.

For more information, call Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

January 18, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Scenes from the Sitka Local Foods Network’s 2014 annual meeting and potluck dinner

On Saturday, Jan. 11, the Sitka Local Foods Network hosted its 2014 annual meeting and potluck dinner at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall.

The two dozen or so participants shared a meal of local food dishes, as well as heard reports on some of the various projects the Sitka Local Foods Network is coordinating and/or supporting. We also were introduced to new board member candidates who were added to the board a week later.

Here are some scenes from the event.

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January 17, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• State fixes glitch to Pick.Click.Give. program with online Alaska PFD application

In an email to participating Pick.Click.Give. nonprofit organizations (including the Sitka Local Foods Network) program manager Heather Beaty wrote:

If you continue to receive reports of problems in completing the PFD application or making Pick.Click.Give. donations, please contact me (at hbeaty@pickclickgive.org) so we can follow up with the state. The PFD Division will send an email to Alaskans who experienced difficulty with the application process to let them know they can go back and add Pick.Click.Give. donations. Alaskans who had trouble with the PFD website can return to the PFD homepage and use the green “Add or Change Your Pick.Click.Give. Donation” button to make a donation.

January 15, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka community greenhouse project to host two meetings this week

This is the inside of a community greenhouse built above the Arctic Circle in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been one of the models for the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center (Photo from http://www.cityfarmer.org/inuvik.html).

The Sitka community greenhouse project will host two meetings this week about its project and how it might impact Blatchley Community Gardens.

The first meeting is an informal tea for people leasing garden plots at Blatchley Community Gardens, and it takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the Sitka Westmark Hotel dining room. The meeting topic will be people to share ideas about improvements and expansion of the community gardening in Sitka.

The second meeting is the regular monthly meeting of the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center project, and it takes place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine Street, parking is off Spruce Street). This meeting will feature reports from committee members on possible building sites (one possible site is at Blatchley Community Gardens).

For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654.

December 29, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• In 2014, you can support the Sitka Local Foods Network through the Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend’s Pick.Click.Give. program

Each year Alaskans get to share in the state’s oil wealth through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend program. Starting in 2014, Alaskans can share their wealth with the Sitka Local Foods Network through the PFD’s Pick.Click.Give. program.

In 2013 there were 26,063 Alaskans who gave nearly $2.45 million to their favorite nonprofit organizations, up from $545,000 donated by 5,175 people in the program’s first year of 2009. Some Alaskans choose to donate to just one group, while others may spread several donations around to many groups. There now are more than 500 total 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations participating in Pick.Click.Give. for 2014, including 22 from Sitka.

So how do you make a donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network through the Pick.Click.Give. program? First, go to http://pfd.alaska.gov/ and fill out your PFD application. When you get to the section of the application asking if you want to participate in Pick.Click.Give., 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.

You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2014 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835. You also can send in a check if you are trying to make nonprofit donations before the end of the 2013 tax year. 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.

December 28, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Local Foods Network to host annual meeting and potluck on Saturday, Jan. 11

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host its annual meeting and potluck dinner from 6-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking off of Spruce Street).

Participants are encouraged to bring a dish featuring local foods to share, and please bring your own utensils (note, this is a non-alcoholic event). This event is a good event to attend for people who want to learn more about the Sitka Local Foods Network and what we do around town.

“Attendees will hear about project updates plus the current board will vote on by-law changes,” Sitka Local Foods Network Board President Lisa Sadleir-Hart said. “New board members also are being recruited.”

Individuals interested in board of directors membership can email sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com for an application. For more information, call Lisa at 747-5985.

• Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors application

• Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors job description

October 13, 2013 by Charles Bingham

• Scenes from the 19th annual Running of the Boots

The 19th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network took place on Saturday, Sept. 28, as part of the End-Of-Season Celebration.

This year the race had a new course, starting in front of St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral and heading out Lincoln Street before looping onto Harbor Drive near City Hall and finishing on Maksoutov Street. There also were prizes for costumes, a table with late-season produce from the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden, a band, and more.

A slideshow of scenes from the race follows below:

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