March 13, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Please join us March 29 to discuss changes to the Sitka Farmers Market

The Sitka Local Foods Network will be making changes to the Sitka Farmers Markets in 2016. Past and prospective vendors are invited to join us for a meeting to discuss the changes from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, at the Westmark Sitka Hotel banquet room.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will have a new leadership team in place for this year’s markets, which will take place from July through September. Learn how to grow your small business and cottage food businesses at the markets. Vendors who register their booths or tables at the meeting will receive a 5 percent discount on their table fees.

For more information, contact Matthew Jackson at (907) 821-1412 or send email to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.

March 8, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the first Basic Culinary Skills class at the Sitka Kitch

Students chopped a lot of potatoes during the first of four Basic Culinary Skills classes offered on Mondays in March at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen.

In addition to working on chopping skills, the students also learned about basic kitchen sanitation and a variety of kitchen tools. There are three more classes in the series, and students will do more cooking in them. The series is designed to help people gain the kitchen skills they need for restaurant jobs, but many of the students are taking the series to improve their home kitchen chops.

These classes are taught by Kathy Jones, executive chef at the Westmark Sitka Hotel and the Totem Square Inn, who was assisted by her sous chef, Barbara Palacios. The classes are modeled after a similar basic culinary skills program Chef Kathy knows from Indianapolis offered by a food relief nonprofit called Second Helpings.

Basic Culinary Skills 2 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 14, this class will focus on basic cooking techniques, basic nutrition, and sauces, soups and stocks part 1.
Basic Culinary Skills 3 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 21, the class will focus on sauces, soups and stocks part 2, salads, and measurements.
Basic Culinary Skills 4 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 28, the class will focus on poultry, meats, and the Alaska DEC safe food handler’s card.

The Basic Culinary Skills class series is supported by a grant from the Northwest Farm Credit Services rural community grant program.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society in partnership with the Sitka Local Foods Network. The Sitka Kitch can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner. To learn more about how to rent the Sitka Kitch, please go to the website at http://www.sitkawild.org/sitka_kitch.

For more information about the Sitka Kitch and the classes, please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org. You also can go to our class registration page at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ to see all of the available classes (click on the class titles to register).

A slideshow of scenes from the first class of the series can be found below.

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March 8, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Local Foods Network seeks manager for 2016 Sitka Farmers Markets

The Sitka Local Foods Network is seeking a manager to coordinate the 2016 Sitka Farmers Markets this summer. This is a contract position, and the manager receives a small compensation depending on experience for his or her work organizing the six scheduled farmers markets this summer.

This will be the ninth year of operation for the Sitka Farmers Market, which features six markets during the summer from July through September. We are still setting the dates for 2016, but they should be released soon. 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.

This year we have new leadership for the market from within the Sitka Local Foods Network, and we are trying to streamline things so it’s easier for the market manager and vendors. We are not hiring an assistant manager this year, so all applicants will need to commit to be at all six markets this year. In addition, the market manager needs access to a vehicle (for hauling signs and supplies around) and to the Internet. Help us bring the fun back to the market.

A detailed description of the market manager duties can be found at the link below. For more information or to submit applications, contact Matthew “Jackson” Jackson at 1-907-821-1412, or you can email the Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com (please put “Sitka Farmers Market Manager” in the subject line).

Applications should include a cover letter, resumé and three recommendations, and they are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 1. The market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market reports to the Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors.

To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and some of the changes we have planned this year, there will be a meeting for vendors and prospective vendors from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, at the Westmark Sitka Hotel banquet room. This meeting is free and open to all.

• Description of duties for market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market Manager (2016)

March 1, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the last Winter Cooking From Scratch series class at the Sitka Kitch — Homemade Empanadas

Baked salmon and deep-fried cheese empanadas were on the menu during the final class in the Winter Cooking From Scratch series Monday, Feb. 29, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. This class on cooking homemade empanadas was taught by Barbara Palacios, the sous chef at the Westmark Sitka Hotel.

This was the fourth class in the Winter Cooking From Scratch series, which saw a variety of local chefs teach the classes. The first class in the series (Homemade Pasta) was taught by Edith Johnson (formerly chef of the Fly-In Fish Inn and now with the Sitka Hotel), and the second class (Ancient Grains and Gut Health) was taught by Dr. Julien Naylor, an internal medicine specialist who also is a trained chef. A third class (Sauces and Dressings) taught by Kathy Jones (executive chef at the Westmark Sitka Hotel) was postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. In addition, the Sitka Kitch recently hosted a special fundraising class (Quick and Easy Thai Cooking) taught by local health program manager Nancy Knapp.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society, in partnership with the Sitka Local Foods Network. The Sitka Kitch, which is located in the First Presbyterian Church (505 Sawmill Creek Road), can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner.

The Sitka Kitch also is offering a Basic Culinary Skills class series taught by Westmark Hotel executive chef Kathy Jones in March, and there is still room for students to take those classes. The Basic Culinary Skills series is designed to help people who want to find work in the restaurant or catering fields improve their kitchen skills (these classes also will be open to people who want to improve their home cooking skills).

A slideshow of scenes from the homemade empanadas class is posted below:

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February 29, 2016 by Charles Bingham

• Check out the March 2016 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the March 2016 edition of its newly launched monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This edition of the newsletter has brief stories about a variety of education opportunities in March, an update on some changes to the Sitka Farmers Market, and how you can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network through the 2016 Pick.Click.Give. donation program through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the registration form 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.

February 28, 2016 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … learn how to grow your own food this spring with the Sitka Local Foods Network

Thinking about your garden, especially with our warm winter weather? It’s time to mark your calendars with several upcoming Spring 2016 garden classes offered by the Sitka Local Foods Network Education Committee.

These classes will cover a variety of topics, from gardening basics and choosing what veggies to grow in Sitka to extending your gardening season, composting and seed-starting. But wait, there’s more. There’s also a class on abundant landscaping, plus classes on growing rhubarb and potatoes. Some of the classes have limited space and require preregistration, so sign up early. Most of the classes are free, but we accept donations. There is one class on starting seeds with a minimal materials fee, but you’ll take some plant starts home.

We already hosted two classes (on vegetable gardening 101 and choosing what veggies to grow in Sitka), but there still are several classes coming up this spring. We will be adding more classes to this list as they become available, so check the website for updates. We plan to post individual class announcements as we get closer to the actual class dates.

And now, here’s the list of classes so far:

Extending Your Gardening Season — 10 a.m., Saturday, March 19, at the Perry Edwards/Michelle Putz home (131 Shelikof Way), teacher Kerry MacLane, the class will explore various methods for protecting your plants and lengthening the growing season, no preregistration required. (NOTE: THE DATE AND TIME OF THIS CLASS HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM WHAT ORIGINALLY WAS ANNOUNCED.)
Starting Vegetable Seedlings Workshop — 6:30-8 p.m., Wednesday, March 23, at Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking off Spruce Street), teacher Jennifer Carter, learn how to start seedlings and go home with a tray of planted seeds, space limited, $10 materials fee, preregistration required.
Abundant Landscaping — 2 p.m., Saturday, April 2, at Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking off Spruce St.), teacher Jud Kirkness, a hands-on approach to the “nine-layer forest garden” methodology, no preregistration required.
Growing and Fertilizing Rhubarb — 9 a.m., Saturday, April 9, at the Perry Edwards/Michelle Putz home (131 Shelikof), teacher Michelle Putz, no preregistration required.
Everyone Can Compost — 6:30-8 p.m., Wednesday, April 20, at Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking off Spruce Street), teacher Jennifer Carter, learn the basics of composting your own soil, no preregistration required.
Growing Potatoes In Sitka — 9 a.m., Saturday, April 23, at the Perry Edwards/Michelle Putz home (131 Shelikof), teacher Michelle Putz, no preregistration required.

In addition, we’ll be launching our new downtown teaching garden as we get closer to growing season and all of those classes will be open to the public. Feel free to help the Sitka Local Foods Network education committee plan new programming at its next monthly meeting, from 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine Street, parking off Spruce Street).

For more information or to sign up for classes requiring preregistration, contact Jennifer Carter at 747-0520 or 1-850-491-2666 (cell).

• Spring 2016 garden education classes from the Sitka Local Foods Network (opens as PDF)

February 24, 2016 by Charles Bingham

• Scenes from the Quick and Easy Thai Cooking class at the Sitka Kitch

Students learned how to cook Thai food while also raising funds for a portrait to honor William Stortz during the special Quick and Easy Thai Cooking class taught by Nancy Knapp on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen.

The students learned how to cook kaeng paneng moo (a curry dish with pork in it, for this class) and tom kha gai (a chicken soup), and also learned how they could add vegetables from their home gardens or local stores to the dishes. Cooks can substitute tofu or similar products for the meat to make vegetarian versions of the dishes. The instructor, longtime Sitka resident and health program manager Nancy Knapp, has worked in Thailand and Laos and brought that experience to the classes.

William Stortz

The class served as a fundraiser to purchase a portrait of William Stortz, painted by Sitka artist Steve Lawrie. William Stortz was one of the three people who died in the August 2015 landslide, and the portrait will hang in the new art gallery bearing his name in the city offices. William was working as the city building inspector when the landslide happened, and before that he spent many years working for the facilities department at the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). There also was a donation can where people could donate, and Nancy Knapp donated her instructor fee to the cause.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society, in partnership with the Sitka Local Foods Network. The Sitka Kitch can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner.

In addition to this special class, the Sitka Kitch has one class left in its winter Cooking From Scratch class series taught by local chefs in February (on homemade empanadas), but that class is full and already has a waiting list. The Sitka Kitch also is offering a Basic Culinary Skills class series taught by Westmark Hotel executive chef Kathy Jones in March, and there is still room for students to take those classes. The Basic Culinary Skills series is designed to help people who want to find work in the restaurant or catering fields improve their kitchen skills (these classes also will be open to people who want to improve their home cooking skills).

A slideshow of scenes from the Thai cooking class is posted below:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

February 17, 2016 by sitkalocalfoodsnetwork2

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers safe home food preservation certification class

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will offer a combined online/in-person safe home food preservation certification class series for residents of Southeast Alaska.

SarahLewisLoadsJarsIntoPerryAndMichellesCanner

Sarah Lewis loads jars of soup into a canner during a July 2015 food preservation class at the Sitka Kitch

This program involves students taking six online courses — on canning basics, canning acidified foods, dehydrating foods, canning high-acid foods and tomatoes, canning low-acid foods, and freezing foods — from Feb. 16 through May 13. Each online class has an option for slower Internet speeds.

After completing the six online courses at their own pace, the students then participate in a two-day workshop in either Juneau, Ketchikan, or Sitka (the Sitka in-person workshop is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15, at the Blatchley Middle School Home Economics Kitchen).

The certification costs $200, and there are a few scholarships available. There is a limit of 20 students for each in-person workshop location.

“The main goal is to get local, Southeast community members trained up to offer information, gauge testing, and even classes, within their home communities,” said instructor Sarah Lewis, of the Juneau District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service. “But it’s also a great class for home/local food enthusiasts; planning to teach others is not required.”

To learn more, go to the UAF Cooperative Extension Service online registration page at http://bit.ly/ces-workshops. You also can contact Sarah Lewis for more information at sarah.lewis@alaska.edu or 907-523-3280, Ext. 1.

February 16, 2016 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Kitch to offer Basic Culinary Skills classes in March for those seeking restaurant work

Are you seeking work in the restaurant or catering industry this summer but feel you need to beef up your skills? The Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen will offer a series of four Basic Culinary Skills classes in March designed to help you develop the skills you need to work in the field.

These classes will be taught by Kathy Jones, executive chef at the Westmark Sitka Hotel and the Totem Square Inn. They are modeled after a similar basic culinary skills program Chef Kathy knows from Indianapolis offered by a food relief nonprofit called Second Helpings.

The classes take place from 6-8:30 p.m. on each Monday in March (March 7, 14, 21, and 28) at the Sitka Kitch, which is located inside the First Presbyterian Church (505 Sawmill Creek Road). Each class costs $25, plus a small materials fee. There is a $20 discount for those students who register for all four classes and pay at the first class. To learn more about each class, click the class titles below (which will take you to our registration page; you pay with cash or check at the class, with checks made out to the Sitka Conservation Society).

Since class size is limited, we ask anybody who can’t make the class to please let us know so we can let someone from the waiting list into the class. Registration for each class closes at 5 p.m. the Friday before each class so supplies can be purchased, or the class can be canceled if not enough people sign up, so please register early.

Basic Culinary Skills 1 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 7, this class will focus on basic kitchen sanitation, beginning knife skills and basic kitchen tools.
Basic Culinary Skills 2 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 14, this class will focus on basic cooking techniques, basic nutrition, and sauces, soups and stocks part 1.
Basic Culinary Skills 3 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 21, the class will focus on sauces, soups and stocks part 2, salads, and measurements.
Basic Culinary Skills 4 — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, March 28, the class will focus on poultry, meats, and the Alaska DEC safe food handler’s card.

The Basic Culinary Skills class series is supported by a grant from the Northwest Farm Credit Services rural community grant program.

In addition to the Basic Culinary Skills class series, there still are spots open in the Sitka Kitch’s winter Cooking From Scratch series of classes in February. All of the classes are open to the general public.

February 12, 2016 by Charles Bingham

• Quick and Easy Thai Cooking class to raise funds for William Stortz portrait

Want to learn how to make quick and easy Thai food in less than one hour from ingredients you can buy at your local grocery store or grow in your garden?

Longtime Sitka resident Nancy Knapp, a health professional who spent many years in Thailand and Laos, will teach this class, which takes place from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen (inside the First Presbyterian Church, 505 Sawmill Creek Road). Students should bring three containers to the class, one each for rice, tom kha gai, and kaeng penang moo. Students will take home dinner for two people to eat later. These dishes will be non-vegetarian, but tofu or tempeh can be used to replace the chicken or pork when cooking.

William Stortz

This class will serve as a fundraiser to purchase a portrait of William Stortz, painted by Sitka artist Steve Lawrie. William Stortz was one of the three people who died in the August 2015 landslide, and the portrait will hang in the new art gallery bearing his name in the city offices. William was working as the city building inspector when the landslide happened, and before that he spent many years working for the facilities department at the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). There also will be a donation can where people can donate, and Nancy Knapp will donate her instructor fee to the cause.

Space is limited to 10 students, so please register early. You can register by clicking this link (you will pay by cash or check at the class). Registration ends at noon on Sunday, Feb. 21, so the instructor has time to purchase supplies. The class fee is $30 per student (not including a possible materials fee split between students), and students will pay by cash or check at the class. Email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org for more information.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society, in partnership with the Sitka Local Foods Network. The Sitka Kitch can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner.

In addition to this special class, the Sitka Kitch is offering a winter Cooking From Scratch class series taught by local chefs in February and a Basic Culinary Skills class series taught by Westmark Hotel executive chef Kathy Jones in March. The Basic Culinary Skills series is designed to help people who want to find work in the restaurant or catering fields improve their kitchen skills (these classes also will be open to people who want to improve their home cooking skills).