The Sitka Local Foods Network will host its annual meeting and potluck dinner from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24, 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. “We will introduce our new board members for 2015, and we will elect officers.”
Individuals interested in learning more about the Sitka Local Foods Network can email sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com to learn about our projects and volunteer opportunities. For more information, call Lisa at 747-5985.
As 2014 winds to a close, many Alaskans already are thinking about applying for their 2015 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividendcheck in January. As usual, Alaskans can share their wealth with a variety of Alaska nonprofits, including the Sitka Local Foods Network, through the PFD’s Pick.Click.Give. program.
This is the second 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. We thank the 56 donors who pledged $2,900 to the Sitka Local Foods Network in 2014, and we appreciate your support again in 2015.
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.
In 2014 a record 26,773 Alaskans gave $2.77 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 2015, including 22 from Sitka.
To encourage more Alaskans to donate through the Pick.Click.Give. program, this will be the second year of the Double Your Dividend contest. Anybody who makes a non-anonymous Pick.Click.Give. donation to at least one of the registered nonprofits will be entered into a contest where 10 lucky Alaskans will win a second PFD check. The winners will be announced in October, about the time the PFDs start hitting bank accounts.
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. Charitable Contributions program, 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.
The Pick.Click.Give. program is available only 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 back into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 each year.
You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2015 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835, or go to our page on Razoo.com, http://www.razoo.com/story/Sitka-Local-Foods-Network, and click the Donate button to make an online contribution. You also can send in a check or make an online donation if you are trying to make nonprofit donations before the end of the 2014 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.
Thank you for supporting our mission of promoting and encouraging the growing, harvesting and eating of local foods in Sitka and Southeast Alaska.
The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the January 2015 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 the 2015 Pick.Click.Give. fundraising campaign, some winter garden classes, and our upcoming annual meeting and potluck dinner on Jan. 24. 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 not share our email list with others to protect your privacy.
At the Sitka Local Foods Network, we know people are busy and they don’t have time to check our website or Facebook page every day to see what’s happening. So we will be launching a monthly newsletter to give folks another way to stay up to date.
The monthly newsletter will feature some brief updates on the top stories from our website, along with information about upcoming classes, the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm garden parties, garden advice, volunteer opportunities, and more. There also will be information about local foods programs offered by other groups, such as classes from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service or events from the Sitka Seafood Festival, that Sitkans might find interesting. We’ll try to keep things fairly short, with links in the newsletter to the longer stories on our website for those who want more info.
You can sign up for the newsletter by clicking this link and following the prompts on the sign-up form (you also can click on the newsletter image in the right column of our website to register). You should receive an email asking you to confirm your subscription, which will open a link where you can let us know more about your interests. To keep from flooding your email account, we will try to limit the newsletters to just once a month (unless there’s a major news item).
At the bottom of each newsletter is a link that allows you to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. We don’t want to spam anybody. Also, we won’t share our email list with outside groups because we know you value your privacy.
Sign up soon, because the January 2015 newsletter will be sent out later this week.
Want to keep up with events and volunteer opportunities hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network? Check out our new online calendar (look for it in the bar at the top of the page).
This calendar features events such as Sitka Local Foods Network board meetings, Sitka Farmers Markets, education classes, garden parties for St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, and other events sponsored by the Sitka Local Foods Network. It also features community events related our mission, such as UAF Cooperative Extension Service classes, Sitka Gardeners Club meetings, traditional foods classes, etc.
If you have any events you feel should be included on this calendar, please email the details to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com and charles@sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org.
As 2014 winds to a close, many Alaskans already are thinking about applying for their 2015 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check in January. As usual, Alaskans can share their wealth with a variety of Alaska nonprofits, including the Sitka Local Foods Network, through the PFD’s Pick.Click.Give. program.
This is the second 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. We thank the 56 donors who pledged $2,900 to the Sitka Local Foods Network in 2014, and we appreciate your support again in 2015.
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.
In 2014 a record 26,773 Alaskans gave $2.77 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 2015, including 22 from Sitka.
To encourage more Alaskans to donate through the Pick.Click.Give. program, this will be the second year of the Double Your Dividend contest. Anybody who makes a non-anonymous Pick.Click.Give. donation to at least one of the registered nonprofits will be entered into a contest where 10 lucky Alaskans will win a second PFD check. The winners will be announced in October, about the time the PFDs start hitting bank accounts.
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. Charitable Contributions program, 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.
The Pick.Click.Give. program is available only 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 back into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 each year.
You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2015 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835, or go to our page on Razoo.com, http://www.razoo.com/story/Sitka-Local-Foods-Network, and click the Donate button to make an online contribution. You also can send in a check or make an online donation if you are trying to make nonprofit donations before the end of the 2014 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.
One of the key elements of the Sitka Local Foods Network’s efforts to bring more locally grown food to Sitka each year is the crops we grow at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, a communal garden behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church that produces food for the Sitka Farmers Market, local school lunch programs, and other venues. This month, the Sitka Local Foods Network is hosting a special projects fundraiser on the website Razoo.com to try and raise $1,200 to be used for improvements at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm.
“The SLFN is excited to launch our first foray into crowd sourcing,” Sitka Local Foods Network board president Lisa Sadleir-Hart said. “We can’t think of a better way to raise funds for our successful St.Peter’s Fellowship Farm and our extension garden at Pat Arvin’s. Our lead gardener, Laura Schmidt, together with our local food interns, have continued to guide us towards increased food production which we’ve then moved into the community. Please help us support this deliciously nourishing project with a donation of $10 to $100 to $1,000 and keep food production growing in Sitka.”
St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm was the brainchild Bonnie Elsensohn, the wife of the church’s former rector. The church had recently removed a large tree behind the See House, and Bonnie thought the open space would be the perfect spot for a communal garden. In the spring of 2008 she contacted Lisa Sadleir-Hart and Doug Osborne, who were board members of what became the Sitka Local Foods Network, suggesting they make a presentation to the church vestry asking that the site become a place to grow vegetables for the new Sitka Farmers Market.
Wood from the felled tree was used to make the first five garden beds, and enough crops were grown to support three Sitka Farmers Markets later that summer. Now St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm is 1,600 square feet, and it produces enough produce for six Sitka Farmers Markets,a garden stand at the Chelan Produce events during summer, a garden stand at the annual Running of the Boots fundraiser, sales to school lunch programs, and more.
This is the first crowd-funding event hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network, and we chose to use Razoo.com because it has tailored its program for nonprofit organizations. It is similar to other crowd-funding sites, such as Kickstarter.com, Indiegogo.com, or GoFundMe.com, but the service charges are lower on Razoo.com for organizations that have an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
The Sitka Local Foods Network is hoping to raise $1,200 in this campaign, which ends on Monday, Dec. 8. To learn more about the project and to contribute, click this link and follow the prompts on the page. You also can click on the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm photo in the right column of our main website page and it will take you directly to the fundraiser link.
All money raised by the Sitka Local Foods Network is used to fund Sitka Local Foods Network programs, such as the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, education programs, etc. All funds raised by the Sitka Local Foods Network is used according to our mission statement, which is to promote the growing, harvesting and eating of local food in Sitka and SE Alaska.
Help celebrate Food Day by joining the Sitka Local Foods Network as it hosts its inaugural Harvest Fest Fundraiser from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Del Shirley Room upstairs in Allen Hall on the Sheldon Jackson Campus.
This event will feature a silent auction for a variety of local food- and garden-related items and services, including:
An apple tree and planting/pruning service,
Canning lessons,
4-6 hours of work in your garden,
Flats of “Finn Island Farm” vegetable starts for 2015,
Customized local foods packages,
Chef services,
Wine-making supplies/materials/lesson,
Edible landscaping consultation,
Home-made desserts and other homegrown goodies,
Compost,
Alaska gardening books, and
A tour of and overnight stay at Finn Island Farm for 1-2 people, includes transportation, gourmet dinner and breakfast.
In addition, the Lexicon of Sustainability photos will be on display, we will give a short update on the state of local food in Sitka, there will be live music, light refreshments featuring local food will be served, and we will pour locally brewed beer (for those age 21 and older) and root beer from Baranof Island Brewing Company. This is a family oriented event, and there is a suggested donation of $5.
“The Sitka Local Foods Network board is excited to share the Lexicon of Sustainability photos again with the Sitka community in the context with our Harvest Fest Fundraiser,” said Lisa Sadleir-Hart, president of the Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors. “We’ve received a delicious array of donations from board members and friends for food-focused items and services for a silent auction, plus we will serve light refreshments focused on locally grown foods and hear about the state of Sitka’s foodscape. It’ll be a festive, informative event.”
The Sitka Local Foods Network is a nonprofit organization that promotes and encourages the use of locally grown, harvested and produced foods in Sitka and Southeast Alaska. Money raised at this fundraiser will support the Sitka Farmers Market, community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners.
For more information, contact the Sitka Local Foods Network at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.org.
Today (Thursday, Oct. 2) Alaskans began receiving their Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks, which are $1,884 this year. Recently, many Alaskans have chosen to share that wealth with state and local nonprofits through the Pick.Click.Give. program.
Your Sitka Local Foods Network joined the Pick.Click.Give. program this year, and we’d like to thank the 56 donors who pledged $2,900 to help us promote and encourage the use of locally grown, harvested and produced foods in Sitka and Southeast Alaska. We thank you for supporting the Sitka Farmers Market, community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners. You can learn more about your Sitka Local Foods Network at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/.
You also can support us by attending the Sitka Local Foods Network Harvest Fest fundraiser from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Del Shirley Room upstairs in Allen Hall on the Sheldon Jackson Campus. This event will feature a silent auction for a variety of food- and garden-related items and services. In addition, the Lexicon of Sustainability photos will be on display, we will give a short update on the state of local food in Sitka, there will be live music, light refreshments featuring local food will be served, and we will pour locally brewed beer (for those age 21 and older) and root beer from Baranof Island Brewing Company. This is a family oriented event, and there is a suggested donation of $5.
Again, we thank you for your support,
The Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors
President Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Vice President Michelle Putz, Secretary Beth Kindig, Treasurer Maybelle Filler, Webmaster Charles Bingham, Milt Fusselman, Matthew Jackson (and two vacant seats)
It’s time to dig your XtraTufs out of the closet and gussy them up. The 20th annual Running of the Boots begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the big tent near St. Michael of the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral on Lincoln Street.
“I’m excited about the Running of the Boots joining the End-of-Season folks under one big tent … literally,” race organizer Kerry MacLane said. “We’ll have music, hot chocolate, and folks can enjoy a complimentary lunch after oodles of prizes have been awarded.”
So what is the Running of the Boots? It’s Southeast Alaska’s answer to Spain’s “Running of the Bulls.” Sitkans wear zany costumes and XtraTufs — Southeast Alaska’s distinctive rubber boots (aka, Sitka Sneakers). The Running of the Boots raises funds for the Sitka Local Foods Network, a nonprofit organization that hosts the Sitka Farmers Market and advocates for community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners.
The Running of the Boots is a short race for fun and not for speed, even though one of the many prize categories is for the fastest boots. Other prize categories include best-dressed boots, zaniest costume, best couple, best kids group and more. The new course starts by St. Michael’s Cathedral, and heads down Lincoln Street toward City Hall, takes a left on Harbor Drive and loops up Maksoutov Street and back to the starting line.
The entry fee for the Running of the Boots is $5 per person and $20 per family, and people can register for the race starting at 10 a.m. Costume judging starts about 10:30 a.m., and runners hit the streets at 11 a.m. As usual, local merchants have donated bushels of prizes for the costume contest. The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a Sitka Farmers Market booth with fresh veggies for sale. The booth takes debit cards, WIC vouchers and Alaska Quest electronic benefit cards.
“This is a really fun way to advance the Sitka Farmers Market and our other Sitka Local Foods Network projects,” MacLane said. “This is a must-see annual change-of-the season tradition in Sitka.”
To learn more about the Running of the Boots, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or 747-7888, or by email at maclanekerry@yahoo.com.
Historical information about the race (through 2005) can be found online at http://www.runningoftheboots.org/. Info about the Sitka Local Foods Network and more recent Running of the Boots events (2008-13) is online at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/ (type Running of the Boots into the search bar at the top of the page). Click here to see a slideshow of scenes from last year’s event.
Sitka Local Foods Network 
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