Learn the basics of starting and running a home-based foods business as Sarah Lewis teaches students How to Start a Cottage Foods Business from 4:30-6 p.m. on Monday, June 24, via Zoom.
This class is to help vendors prepare for the upcoming Sitka Farmers Markets hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network.
Sarah Lewis — the home, health and family development agent for the Juneau office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service — will teach this class by videoconference from Juneau. Students will learn about state laws regarding home food businesses, and get ideas for businesses you might take to the Sitka Farmers Market or local trade shows. The first part will be spent discussing food safety rules and regulations, and the second part of the class will be for questions and answers.
The Sitka Local Foods Network is offering students of this class half off their Sitka Farmers Market vendor fee for the first market of the season where they host a table. Representatives from the Sitka Local Foods Network/Sitka Farmers Market and (hopefully) the Sitka food safety office of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation are planning to attend so they can answer any questions potential cottage foods business owners may have.
For more information and to get the Zoom link, contact Charles Bingham at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com or 907-623-7660.
Sarah Lewis of the University of Alaska FairbanksCooperative Extension Service will teach a series of online Preserving Alaska’s Bounty classes about home food preservation. The classes will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday afternoons, Jan. 7, Jan. 14, Jan. 21, Jan. 28, and Feb. 4 using Zoom. For more information, or to register, please visit bit.ly/PAB2024.
This course is designed to lead students through a series of food preservation methods, building on food safety knowledge and the development of skills for use in the home. Each module will start with a live lesson, instructing students on the topic and outlining the assignments to be completed for the module.
After completion of all modules, students will have both the knowledge and the experience to confidently continue preserving food in their homes. There is an optional exam available for participants who wish to become Food Preservation Educators within their home community.
There are important, but simple, food safety considerations when preserving food at home. In Alaska we preserve a variety of wild harvested meats, vegetables, fruits, and berries to ensure food security and nutrition through the non-harvest seasons. Alaskans also preserve their garden harvests for the winter months.
The preservation methods you will learn about (and practice in your own kitchen throughout this course) include: pickling and fermenting vegetables; boiling water-bath canning of fruits, berries, and pickles; pressure canning of meat, fish, and vegetables; dehydration of fruits and vegetables; making jerky; smoking fish. Other topics will include emergency preparedness, how to start a Cottage Foods business, and information about wild harvested plants. At the end of this course, students will feel confident that they have gained the skills necessary to safely preserve foods for the benefit of their household.
Those students who wish to receive a certificate of course completion and become a Food Preservation Educator within their home community may do so by attending all sessions, completing all assignments, and passing a final exam. Students who wish to become Food Preservation Educators must complete all assignments and pass a final exam to receive a certificate of completion.
Participants must be 16 or older (unless joining a household adult). The registration deadline is Sunday, Dec. 31. A course fee of $150 per household or Zoom connection includes one class textbook, which will be mailed to students. A 50-percent reduction is available if requested. The Preserving Alaska’s Bounty series will be taught by Sarah Lewis, an agent with the University of Alaska FairbanksCooperative Extension Service‘s Juneau District Office. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made 10 business days in advance of the Jan. 7 start, to sarah.lewis@alaska.edu.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will host its “Sitka Salmonganza” on Sunday through Tuesday, July 30 to Aug. 1, at various locations in Sitka.
Classes about how to use and preserve will be taught by Sarah Lewis, a Juneau-based Cooperative Extension agent. Preregistration is requested so we have enough ingredients and supplies for everyone. Register at https://bit.ly/salmonganza
Sunday, July 30, 1-7 p.m. Salmon Social: Sitkaʼs summer parties require salmon and salmonberries. In this hands-on workshop you will learn to safely pressure can salmon and waterbath can berry syrup. Youʼll also learn ways to use canned salmon for party dishes and make salmonberry soda. All experience levels welcome, all ingredients and supplies included. Sitka Lutheran Church kitchen (224 Lincoln St., enter from back of church but use street parking), Fee: $35 per person. Free for Southeast tribe members and youth under 16 (attending with an adult).
Monday, July 31, Noon-1 p.m. Salmon Nutrition: Discover the healing benefits and uses of salmon, seeds, and oils. The discussion will include a variety of topics including inflammation, omega fatty acids, and cooking oils. We will be using videoconferencing technology to tie-in instructor Audra Henderson but meet as a group in person. Sitka’s Harrigan Centennial Hall. Free.
Monday, July 31, 5-7 p.m. Family Meals with Canned Salmon: In this hands-on workshop you will learn to cook creative family dishes with delicious and healthy canned salmon. All ages and experience levels welcome, all ingredients and supplies included. Blatchley Middle School Home Ec Room. Fee: $20 per person. Free for Southeast tribe members and youth under 16 (attending with an adult).
Tuesday, Aug. 1, Noon-1 p.m. Smoking and Canning Salmon Basics: In this class you will learn basic techniques for smoking fish at home and how to safely pressure can it for delicious meals all year. Sitka Public Library. Free.
Tuesday, Aug. 1, 5-7 p.m. Saucy Pickled Salmon: In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to pickle fish and make a few sauces. Impress your friends and family this summer with fancy fish dishes, no need to tell them how easy it was! Blatchley Middle School Home Ec Room. Fee: $20 per person. Free for Southeast tribe members and youth under 16 (attending with an adult).
For more information, contact Sarah Lewis at sarah.lewis@alaska.edu or call 907-455-2010.
Learn what the basics of starting and running a cottage foods business as Sarah Lewis teaches students How to Start a Cottage Foods Business (also known as a home-based food business) from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21, at the Sitka Public Library.
This class is designed to help vendors prepare for the upcoming Sitka Farmers Markets hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network.
Sarah Lewis — the home, health and family development agent for the Juneau office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service — will teach this class live in Sitka. Students will learn about state laws regarding home-based food businesses, and get ideas for businesses you might take to the Sitka Farmers Market or local trade shows. The first hour will be spent discussing rules and regulations, and the second part of the class will be for questions and answers.
The Sitka Local Foods Network is offering students of this class half off their Sitka Farmers Market vendor fee for the first market of the season where they host a table (as a rebate). Representatives from the Sitka Local Foods Network/Sitka Farmers Market and (hopefully) the Sitka food safety office of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation are planning to attend so they can answer any questions potential cottage foods business owners may have.
For more information about the class, contact Charles Bingham of the Sitka Local Foods Network at 907-623-7660 or Jasmine Shaw at the UAF Cooperative Extension Service Sitka District Office at 907-747-9440.
The Canning New Year Soups class is from 3-8 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, in the downstairs kitchen of the Sitka Lutheran Church (the location of the Sitka Kitch). Please enter from the alley behind the church, and park on the street and not in back of the church. This class for all skill levels costs $25.
The three lunchtime classes take place from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Jan. 23-25, in the Gus Adams Meeting Room at Sitka Public Library. They cost $10 each, or you can take all three classes for $20.
The registration deadline for these classes is Saturday, Jan. 21. To register, go to http://bit.ly/SitkaJan2023 (scroll down) or click on the highlighted class titles above. For more information, contact Jasmine Shaw at jdshaw2@alaska.edu or 907-747-9440.
UAF Cooperative Extension Service agent Sarah Lewis will teach the Preserving Alaska’s Bounty online class series from Jan. 7 to Feb. 4, 2023. The five-week series will give participants the skills necessary to safely preserve foods for their own household. Anyone who wishes to become a food preservation educator within their community may also complete a final exam.
Students will learn about and practice pickling and fermenting vegetables; boiling water-bath canning of fruits, berries, and pickles; pressure canning of meat, fish, and vegetables; as well as dehydration of fruits and vegetables; making jerky; and smoking fish. Other topics will include emergency preparedness, how to start a cottage foods business (aka, a home-based foods business), and information about wild harvested plants.
The course will be offered on the Canvas platform. Live instruction will be offered in a 3-hour Zoom session each Saturday at 1 p.m., with assignments to be completed in the student’s kitchen on their own schedule, as well as assigned readings and other activities. The final session will be on Feb. 4.
Participants must be 16 or older (unless joining a household adult). The registration deadline is Dec. 31. Registration and more class details are available at http://bit.ly/PreservingAlaska2022, or by contacting Sarah at sarah.lewis@alaska.edu. Even though Sarah is based in Juneau, this is an online class so you can take it from anywhere in the state.
A course fee of $150 per household or Zoom connection includes one class textbook, which will be mailed to students. A 50-percent reduction (scholarship) is available if requested. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made 10 business days in advance of the Jan. 7 start, to sarah.lewis@alaska.edu.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, educational institution and provider and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: http://www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.
Workshops will be taught by UAF Cooperative Extension Agent Sarah Lewis, from her home kitchen in Juneau, and Program Assistant Gina Dionne from her home kitchen in Anchorage. You can join them from your home kitchen anywhere in Alaska (or the world).
Sarah and Gina will offer resources, publications, and information for each class, but the real fun will happen on Zoom. You can watch or cook along in real time, or watch and cook along with the class recording at your own pace. Classes will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesdays via Zoom.
Prepare for Winter in September Sept. 20: Create a Food Secure Pantry Sept. 27: Winterizing Your Home and Garden Make Sausage and Pickles in October Oct. 11: Making Sauerkraut and Relish Oct. 18: Making Wild Game Sausage Focus on Holiday Food in November Nov. 15: Canning Fruits and Berries: A Taste of Summer for the Holidays Nov 29: Canning Holiday Leftovers
Each class requires separate registration and participants may register for one or all of the classes. Classes cost $12 each. The deadline for registering is at 5 p.m. on the day before each class. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Sarah Lewis at 907-523-3280 x1 or sarah.lewis@alaska.edu.
Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to limited English proficient individuals upon request. UAF is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, educational institution and provider and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination.
Learn what the basics of starting and running a cottage foods business as Sarah Lewis teaches students how to Start a Cottage Foods Business from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, via Zoom.
Sarah Lewis — the home, health and family development agent for the Juneau office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service — will teach this class by videoconference from Juneau. Students will learn about state laws regarding home food businesses, and get ideas for businesses you might take to the Sitka Farmers Market or local trade shows. The first hour will be spent discussing rules and regulations, and the second part of the class will be for questions and answers.
The class fee is $10, and the funds go to the Sitka Kitch. Class space is limited, so register early. The registration deadline for this class is 11 p.m. on Monday, June 13. The Sitka Local Foods Network is offering students of this class half off their Sitka Farmers Market vendor fee for the first market of the season where they host a table. Representatives from the Sitka Local Foods Network/Sitka Farmers Market and (hopefully) the Sitka food safety office of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation are planning to attend so they can answer any questions potential cottage foods business owners may have.
Register online at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ (click on class title) and pre-pay using credit/debit cards or PayPal. To pre-pay by cash or check, contact Kylee Jones of the Sitka Conservation Society at 907-747-7509 or info@sitkawild.org to arrange payment. For more information about the class, contact Jasmine Shaw at the UAF Cooperative Extension Service Sitka District Office at 907-747-9440.
The Sitka Kitch is supported in partnership by Sitka Conservation Society with UAF Cooperative Extension Service. These classes are fundraisers for the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen.
In Alaska, we preserve a variety of wild harvested meats, vegetables, fruits, and berries to ensure food security and nutrition. Alaskans also preserve their garden harvests for the winter months.
There are important, simple, food safety considerations when preserving food at home. The preservation methods you will learn about (and practice in your own kitchen throughout this course) include water-bath canning, pressure canning, pickling and fermenting vegetables, dehydration, smoking fish, culturing sourdough and yogurt, and making sausage.
Lewis will teach the course online via Zoom, and participants can practice these techniques in their own kitchens. They’ll complete independent online assignments and view videos via the Canvas online course platform, which will open Jan. 10. Zoom classes will be held from 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays, Jan. 15 through Feb. 12.
The course will use “So Easy to Preserve,” sixth edition, from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. The book is included in the cost of the course and will be mailed to each student.
Students must have a home kitchen, a computer with a camera, and either a computer microphone or phone service for audio. The cost is $114 per household; fee waivers are available.
Winter Is Coming, which means it’s time for another series of classes from the Extension Kitchen.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service is offering a series of nine Food Preservation Workshops during the months of October and November by Zoom. The classes will be taught from the home of Home, Health, and Family Development Extension Agent Sarah Lewis from the Juneau District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, and the classes are available to anybody with an online connection (but they are targeted toward people in Alaska). Even though she’s based in Juneau, Sarah is on the Sitka Kitch advisory team.
The classes are from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesdays, starting Oct. 5. They cost $10 each, and at the end of each class one participating student will win a $20 gift certificate to a local store that sells canning equipment, plus one student will win a free entry into another class in the series. Students can register for the individual classes in the series at this link, http://bit.ly/extensionworkshops.
For more information, contact Sarah at sarah.lewis@alaska.edu or 1-907-523-3280, Ext. 1. You also can contact the UAF Cooperative Extension Service in Fairbanks toll-free at 1-877-520-5211.
Sitka Local Foods Network 
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