Seafood Donation Program

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Alaskans Own community-supported seafood program opens 2023 membership sales

All profits from Alaskans Own’s 2023 seafood sales will go toward fishery conservation and community health and resilience programs

SITKA, Alaska — Alaskans Own is excited to announce that seafood lovers throughout Alaska and Seattle can now sign up for Alaskans Own’s 2023 monthly seafood shares.

This year marks the 14th year that Alaskans Own, a Sitka-based nonprofit, will deliver monthly shares of wild Alaska seafood directly to consumers through its community supported fishery. Based on the widespread community supported agriculture (aka, CSAs) model, CSFs are a way for people to buy a “share” of seafood before the fishing season, giving fishermen some certainty that they have a market before they head out to the fishing grounds. Founded in 2009 by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), Alaskans Own is Alaska’s first and oldest community supported fishery and offers monthly seafood shares subscriptions in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Sitka, Juneau, and Seattle.

In 2023, all profits from Alaskans Own seafood sales will go towards ALFA’s Fishery Conservation Network and community health and resilience programs such as ALFA’s Seafood Distribution Network. The Seafood Donation Program, now the Seafood Distribution Network, was created in 2020 in response to COVID-19 and the rise in demand for food assistance throughout Alaska and the greater Pacific Northwest region. Thanks to funding from Catch Together, Multiplier, The Alaska Community Foundation and affiliate Sitka Legacy Fund, First Bank of Alaska, Sealaska, Sitka Rotary Club, The Wave Foundation, Seafood Producers Cooperative, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association and a host of individual and business donors, ALFA was able to help deliver more than 650,000 donated seafood meals to more than 100,000 families to date. Given the Seafood Distribution Network’s success and continued food insecurity amongst thousands of Alaska households, ALFA and network partners are working to sustain the Seafood Distribution Network and will dedicate a portion of Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares to support this important work.

“As a community supported fishery, community is at the heart of who we are and everything we do at Alaskans Own,” said Natalie Sattler, Alaskans Own Program Director. “Our top priority is to take care of our community, whether that’s by safeguarding ocean health, paying local fishermen a good price for their catch, providing our customers with premium quality fish, or ensuring that all Alaskans can have access to nutritious, wild seafood, When someone signs up for our monthly seafood share, they’re not only taking care of their family’s health, but they’re also directly supporting conservation of Alaska’s fisheries and seafood donations for families in need.”

This year Alaskans Own will continue to offer the option for customers to choose from a selection of monthly seafood shares, including a seafood variety share, salmon lovers share, and white fish share. All monthly seafood share options feature hook-and-line caught wild Alaska seafood harvested by Southeast Alaska’s troll and longline fishermen.

“The challenges that we all experienced as a result of the Covid pandemic really reinforced for us at Alaskans Own that we want to do more than just deliver high quality seafood,” said Linda Behnken, Alaskans Own founder, commercial fisherman, and ALFA executive director. “We want our fish to do good and build community. We’re so grateful for our customers who believe in our mission and invest in it every time they buy seafood from Alaskans Own.”

To learn more about Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares and other seafood products, visit www.alaskansown.com.

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Alaskans Own community-supported seafood program opens 2022 membership sales

Alaskans Own is excited to announce that seafood lovers throughout Alaska and Seattle can now sign up for Alaskans Own seafood’s 2022  monthly seafood shares, with the early bird sale starting on Monday, March 7.

This year marks the 13th year that Sitka-based Alaskans Own will deliver monthly shares of wild Alaska seafood directly to consumers through its community-supported fishery (CSF). Based on the widespread community-supported agriculture (aka, CSAs) model where people pay a farmer before the season for a share of the crop, CSFs are a way for people to buy a “share” of seafood before the fishing season, giving fishermen some certainty that they have a market before they head out to the fishing grounds. Founded in 2009 by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), Alaskans Own is Alaska’s first and oldest community supported fishery and offers monthly seafood shares subscriptions in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Sitka, Juneau, and Seattle. 

In 2022, all profits from Alaskans Own seafood sales will go towards ALFA’s Fishery Conservation Network and Seafood Donation Program. The Seafood Donation Program was created in 2020 in response to COVID-19 and the rise in demand for food assistance throughout Alaska and the greater Pacific Northwest region. Thanks to funding from Catch Together, Multiplier, The Alaska Community Foundation and affiliates Sitka Legacy Fund, First Bank of Alaska, Sealaska, Sitka Rotary Club, and a host of individual and business donors, ALFA was able to help deliver more than 640,000 donated seafood meals to more than 100,000 families in 2020 and 2021. Given the Seafood Donation Program’s success and continued food insecurity amongst thousands of Alaska households, ALFA is hoping to expand the Seafood Donation Program and use Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares sales as a way to help sustain it.

“As a Community Supported Fishery, community is at the heart of who we are and everything we do at Alaskans Own. Our top priority is to take care of our community, whether that’s by paying local fishermen a good price for their catch, providing our customers with premium quality fish, or ensuring that all Alaskans can have access to nutritious, wild seafood,” said Natalie Sattler, Alaskans Own program director. “When someone signs up for our monthly seafood share, they’re not only taking care of their family’s health, but they’re also directly supporting conservation of Alaska’s fisheries and seafood donations for families in need.”

This year will be the option again for Alaskans Own customers to choose from a selection of monthly seafood shares, including a seafood variety share, salmon lovers share, and white fish share. All monthly seafood share options feature hook-and-line caught wild Alaska seafood harvested by Southeast Alaska’s troll and longline fishermen.

“The challenges that we all experienced as a result of the Covid pandemic  really reinforced for us at Alaskans Own that we want to do more than just deliver high quality seafood. We want our fish to do good for the greater good. We’re so grateful for our customers who believe in our mission and invest in it every time they buy seafood from Alaskans Own,” Alaskans Own founder, commercial fisherman, and ALFA executive director, Linda Behnken said. 

To learn more about Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares and other seafood products, visit www.alaskansown.com. 

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USDA awards Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) with funding to conduct assessment of local seafood security and seafood industry workforce

SITKA, Alaska – The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) is pleased to announce it was selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive $209,100 from a Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant as part of the Agriculture Marketing Service’s Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP). ALFA was one of 30 projects selected across 24 states to receive an RFSP grant and will use the funding to foster new partnerships around Alaska that help build a more resilient regional food system, specifically when it comes to local seafood access and seafood industry workforce development.

The impacts of Covid-19 highlighted long standing workforce development and food insecurity issues in Alaska. The seafood industry provides the backbone of coastal economies but relies on outside labor for processing, marketing, and shipping. Quarantine requirements led to significant labor shortages and high costs. In addition, currently less than 1 percent of the seafood caught in Alaska stays in Alaska to benefit the local economy. Alaska is one of the top five most food insecure states in the nation. It is estimated 95 percent of the $2 billion of food Alaskans purchase each year is imported, and 14 percent of Alaskans, including 20 percent of children, face food insecurity.

In response to the pandemic and food insecurity in Alaska, in March 2020, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association formed a statewide coalition of nonprofits, tribal organizations, military organizations, city and boroughs, foundations, fishermen, and seafood processors to address food insecurity and workforce development challenges. The coalition was made possible with funding from Catch Together; a nonprofit that supports innovative conservation endeavors and fishermen-led efforts that address long-term access to local fishery resources. This initiative, which became known as the Seafood Donation Program, provided stipends and workforce support to the seafood industry and deployed $2.5 million to purchase local seafood for distribution, providing more than 630,000 free meals of Alaska seafood to individuals and families facing food insecurity. 

With funding from the USDA, ALFA will develop and implement a two-year assessment that looks at its pilot Seafood Donation Program and the feasibility of potentially continuing and expanding it into an ongoing program. In addition, the assessment will look at current seafood industry workforce development programs and identify gaps and barriers keeping local Alaskans from participating in the seafood industry. The project will culminate with the development of a feasibility study for a ten-year statewide seafood distribution and workforce development plan with emphasis on cultural relevance of seafood and serving marginalized communities. 

“We’re honored to carry this project forward and help lay the groundwork for new projects and programs in Alaska that could help make our communities healthier and more resilient,” said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. “Thanks to this support from the USDA, we’ll be able to work with a wide range of partners to assess where the biggest needs and opportunities are for ensuring that our local food systems are better prepared for future disruptions such as COVID-19, and that we have the tools in place to encourage local employment in our local seafood industry.”

As a “partnership” grant, ALFA’s project will rely heavily on the engagement of diverse stakeholders and will be guided by a formal steering committee including representatives from Alaska tribes, seafood distributors, national and state philanthropic and foundation leadership, chefs, community, and policy leaders as well as youth representatives. Some of these steering committee members will include founding partners of the Seafood Donation Program, including Sam Schimmel from Kenai, who helped spearhead several salmon distributions to Alaska Native families in the Anchorage and Fairbanks communities. 

“I’m really excited to be part of this project and help create new, locally grown solutions to some very complex problems,” Schimmel said. “We know that these needs are not going away, so this project is an important opportunity for us to all come together, share information, and figure out how we can ensure our Alaska Native communities continue to have access to the native foods that keep us connected to our traditions and to our cultures.”

“There’s no question that Alaska’s seafood industry faces a lot of challenges when it comes to workforce, whether that’s graying of the fleet or lack of new recruitment into the fisheries,” said Norm Pillen, president of Seafood Producers Cooperative in Sitka. “I”m looking forward to seeing what we learn through this project and how it can help advance conversations already underway about the future of Alaska’s seafood industry and our coastal communities.”

The funding is made possible through grant programs administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) as part of the Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP) — the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP), and the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP).

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Alaskans Own community-supported seafood program opens 2021 membership sales

Alaskans Own is excited to announce that seafood lovers throughout Alaska and Seattle can now sign up for 2021 monthly seafood shares, while seeing their share payments going toward Alaska seafood donations and fishery conservation work.

This year marks the 12th year that Alaskans Own will deliver monthly shares of wild Alaska seafood directly to consumers through its Community Supported Fishery. Based on the widespread Community Supported Agriculture (aka, CSA) model, CSFs are a way for people to buy a “share” of seafood before the fishing season, giving fishermen some certainty that they have a market before they head out to the fishing grounds. Founded in 2009 by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), Alaskans Own is Alaska’s first and oldest Community Supported Fishery and offers monthly seafood shares subscriptions in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Sitka, Juneau, and Seattle. 

In 2021, all profits from Alaskans Own seafood sales will go towards ALFA’s Fishery Conservation Network and Seafood Donation Program. The Seafood Donation Program was created in 2020 in response to COVID-19 and the rise in demand for food assistance throughout Alaska and the greater Pacific Northwest region. Thanks to funding from Catch Together, Multiplier, The Alaska Community Foundation and affiliate The Sitka Legacy Foundation, First Bank Alaska, Sealaska, Sitka Rotary Club, and a host of individual and business donors, ALFA was able to help deliver more than 600,000 donated seafood meals to more than 100,000 families in 2020. Given the Seafood Donation Program’s success and continued food insecurity amongst thousands of Alaska households, ALFA is hoping to expand the Seafood Donation Program and use Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares sales as a way to help sustain it.

“As a Community Supported Fishery, community is at the heart of who we are and everything we do at Alaskans Own. Our top priority is to take care of our community, whether that’s by paying local fishermen a good price for their catch, providing our customers with premium quality fish, or ensuring that all Alaskans can have access to nutritious, wild seafood,” said Natalie Sattler, Alaskans Own program director. “When someone signs up for our monthly seafood share, they’re not only taking care of their family’s health, but they’re also directly supporting conservation of Alaska’s fisheries and seafood donations for families in need.”

New this year will be the option for Alaskans Own customers to choose from a selection of monthly seafood shares, including a seafood variety share, salmon lovers share, and white fish share. All monthly seafood share options feature hook-and-line caught wild Alaska seafood harvested by Southeast Alaska’s troll and longline fishermen.

“The challenges that we all experienced in 2020 really reinforced for us at Alaskans Own that we want to do more than just deliver high quality seafood. We want our fish to do good for the greater good. We’re so grateful for our customers who believe in our mission and invest in it every time they buy seafood from Alaskans Own,” said Linda Behnken, Alaskans Own founder, commercial fisherman, and ALFA executive director. 

To learn more about Alaskans Own’s monthly seafood shares and other seafood products, visit www.alaskansown.com. 

Alaskans Own is a non-profit, community supported fisheries program. Joining Alaskans Own is about a lot more than buying great fish. It’s an investment in the health of both fish and fisherman, in a cleaner environment, more vibrant local economies and a better future for Alaska. Learn more about our Fishery Conservation Network at alfafish.org. You can follow the the Alaskans Own program on Facebook and on Instagram.