September 12, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the seventh and final Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer

It rained heavily the day before and even the early morning of the market, but after we’d already set up inside we looked out and saw it was nice and sunny. So we decided outside was the best place to hold the seventh and final Sitka Farmers Markets of the 2016 summer, on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall.

Other than one booth using the Alaska Native Sisterhood Kitchen in ANB Hall to make Indian tacos, all of our booths were outdoors in the Baranof Island Housing Authority (BIHA) parking lot next to ANB Founders Hall. This week we also had three ladies who had antiques and other vintage items for sale.

Since it was the last market, it was nice to see some of the booths selling out. The Sitka Local Foods Network produce stand sold out of all its produce, and even its pork products from Mat-Valley Meats. The Salvation Army bread booth sold out, and Reindeer Redhots ran out of hot dog buns.

Now that the market season is over, we will be looking for new ways to try and revitalize the market. If you have ideas, please contact Matthew Jackson at (907) 821-1412 or jackson.mw08@gmail.com.

The Sitka Farmers Markets receive sponsorship funding from the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). Don’t forget to vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in the American Farmland Trust’s eighth annual Farmers Market Celebration. The voting deadline is Sept. 21, and we were leading for Alaska in several of the categories.

Also, mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 17, which is the tentative date of the annual Running of the Boots costumed fun-run fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network. Click this link for more details.

A slideshow of scenes from the seventh Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer is below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

September 5, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the sixth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer

Charlie Bower brought a variety of mushrooms for sale this week.

It was nice and sunny, so we decided outside was the best place to hold the sixth of seven Sitka Farmers Markets of the 2016 summer, on Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall.

Sometimes you just need to dance.

We always welcome new vendors who want to sell produce they’ve grown, fish they’ve caught, and local cottage food products they’ve made. To learn more about how to be a vendor, contact Matthew Jackson at (907) 821-1412 orjackson.mw08@gmail.com.

We only have one market left, which will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.). The Sitka Farmers Markets receive sponsorship funding from the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). Don’t forget to vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in the American Farmland Trust’s eighth annual Farmers Market Celebration.

A slideshow of scenes from the sixth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer is below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

September 1, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Check out the September 2016 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

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

This edition of the newsletter has brief stories about the Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser, the last two Sitka Farmers Markets of the summer, an informal Sitka Garden Club meeting, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service’s decision not to close its Sitka office. 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.

September 1, 2016 by Charles Bingham

22nd annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run raises funds for Sitka Local Foods Network

It’s time to dig your XtraTufs out of the closet and gussy them up. The 22nd annual Running of the Boots begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, at the big tent near Totem Square park on Lincoln Street. (NOTE: This is a change from last year’s meeting place and what was previously announced for this year’s event.)

While the meeting place is different this year, the actual race course will be roughly the same as the past three races but with a different start-finish line. This change allows the race to be a bigger part of the Season’s-End Celebration festivities hosted downtown by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Cruise Line Association. In addition to the Running of the Boots, the Season’s-End Celebration includes a lunch from noon to 3 p.m. for Sitka residents featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, and fish. Instead of being free, this year people are asked to make a $2 donation to the activities funds at Sitka and Mount Edgecumbe high schools when they get their lunch.

“We’re going to have a blast this year under a huge tent right at Totem Square park, across from City Hall,” race organizer Kerry MacLane said. “This isn’t just for kids. Some of our most memorable entries have been adults. This is a chance to accessorize your boots, or go all out and come as your most wearable art creature from outer space. We’ll have great live music, hot chocolate, and there is even a great local 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 Totem Square park, and heads down Harbor Drive and up Maksoutov Street before cutting by St. Michael’s Cathedral and finishing down Lincoln Street toward City Hall and the start-finish 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.

“Not only is the Running of the Boots a blast, it supports the local foods movement,” 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. We also need several volunteers to help set up and take down the race (two needed) and to judge the costumes (two needed). Contact MacLane to learn how to volunteer.

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 (2008-15) is online at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/ (type Running of the Boots into the search bar at the top of the page). Click this link to see a slideshow of scenes from the 2015 Running of the Boots.

Also, don’t forget to like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork and follow our Twitter page at https://www.twitter.com/SitkaLocalFoods (@SitkaLocalFoods) to stay updated on Sitka Local Foods Network activities.

September 1, 2016 by Charles Bingham

UAF Cooperative Extension Service offices in Sitka, Anchorage to remain open

JasmineShawUAFCooperativeExtensionService

The announcement that the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will keep its Sitka and Anchorage offices open, means Jasmine Shaw, right, will continue to staff the Sitka office instead of the office being closed.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will keep its offices in Sitka and Anchorage open instead of closing them under a new plan developed by Extension leaders this summer.

The plan means the Anchorage office will move to a new location and become an outreach center rather than a district office. Outreach centers have no Extension agents, but offer Extension publications and face-to-face and distance-delivered programs led by agents from other district offices. Classes also will be taught by program staff and by community experts. Services at the Sitka office will be relatively unchanged, but operations will be mostly grant funded.

In May, the university announced a plan to close both the Anchorage and Sitka offices by the end of October due to budget shortfalls. This summer, office and classroom space with another university program became available and Extension received some additional grant funding. Those changes allowed the university to re-examine the decision to close the offices.

“We knew that the closure of these two offices would be a loss to the Sitka and Anchorage communities,” said Extension director Fred Schlutt. “We are pleased that these new developments will allow us to have a physical presence in these communities.”

The Anchorage office will move to the Chugachmiut Tribal Consortium Building at 1840 Bragaw St. It will share space with the Mining and Petroleum Training Service, a former UA statewide program that was transferred to Extension in July. The new office will have classroom space and use of the university’s videoconference network. It will house grant-funded faculty and staff with a specific focus, including, an invasive plants instructor, integrated pest management technician and a nutrition educator. Extension is planning to seek additional funding for a program assistant to coordinate Extension offerings in the area.

As was previously planned, the three Anchorage Extension agents have been transferred to vacant positions at the Fairbanks and Soldotna offices. The Extension economist will also move to a new office at the Matanuska Experiment Farm.

The Sitka office, which has not had an agent for two years, will continue to have a program assistant (currently Jasmine Shaw), who will coordinate Extension activities in the community and offer programming. The Sitka office helps coordinate statewide videoconference training in Sitka, assists the Sitka Conservation Society in coordinating the Sitka Spruce Tips-Alaska Way of Life 4-H Club, helps with education programming at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen, and provides other services, such as pressure canner gauge testing.

Schlutt told the Alaska Dispatch News that between grants and having the University of Alaska Southeast providing office space, costs for the Sitka office are less than $5,000 a year in state general funds. “If we can keep a rural office open for under $5,000, we’ll do it every time,” he said.

Other Extension reductions have included layoffs, the elimination of four open agents’ positions and a 15 percent reduction to its operating budget.

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service FAQ’s about keeping Anchorage, Sitka offices open

August 31, 2016 by Charles Bingham

UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers Certified Food Protection Manager class by videoconference Oct. 4 in Sitka

Tuesday, Sept. 20, is the registration deadline for a certified food protection manager workshop being taught on Tuesday, Oct. 4, by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. This is an all-day statewide class that will be offered by videoconferencing to Bethel, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Palmer, Sitka and Valdez.

A certified food protection manager (CFPM) is responsible for monitoring and managing all food establishment operations to ensure that the facility is operating in compliance with food establishment regulations.

A CFPM is knowledgeable about food safety practices and uses this knowledge to provide consumers with safe food, protect public health and prevent food-borne illnesses. Alaska regulations require food establishments to have at least one CFPM on staff.

This course takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with a half-hour lunch), and participants will take a computer-based exam at the end of the class. The reason the deadline is two weeks before the class is to guarantee course materials reach all the students in time for the class. The cost is $200, and the course will be taught by Julie Cascio of Palmer. Students can register here.

The Sitka videoconference for the class will take place in Room 106 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. To learn more, contact Jasmine Shaw at the Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 747-9440, or contact Julie Cascio at (907) 745-3360 (Palmer number) or jmcascio@alaska.edu. Note, this class is taught in English but textbooks are available in Korean, Chinese and Spanish, just contact Julie at least three weeks before the class.

Also, the ServSafe book ($70) and certification exam ($75) now are available online, if people want to order the book and study independently without taking the class. Just go to this website and purchase the book and exam items.

August 30, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Spruce Tips-Alaska Way of Life 4-H club to host Wild Edibles Series this fall

The Sitka Spruce Tips-Alaska Way of Life 4-H Club will begin a six-week Wild Edible Series starting on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

Kids will get outside and explore the bounty of wild edibles in Southeast Alaska. Activities include picking berries, identifying mushrooms, hiking through the muskeg, smoking salmon, and making jam and fruit leather. Get ready to taste the Tongass.

4-H members ages 5-8 will meet from 3:30-5 p.m. on Wednesdays and ages 9 and older will meet from 3:30-5 p.m. on Thursdays (the location will be revealed once you have registered). The registration fee is $20 and scholarships are available. Please register by Sept. 2.

For more information, email Julia Tawney at julia@sitkawild.org or call the Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509.

August 29, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Sitka Local Foods Network to host informal garden club for Sitka gardeners on Sept. 2

Do you grow vegetables or fruit or want to? Would you like to meet and learn from other gardeners in Sitka and visit their gardens?

Then come to Sitka Local Foods Network’s informal, unofficial Garden Club meeting from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, at the home of Jennifer and Brinnen Carter, 113 Jamestown Drive. This is a chance for Sitka gardeners to share successes and discuss problems they may be having with their gardens. Appetizers will be provided.

Participants will decide the next location and club meeting date (so bring your calendars). If parking looks tight, please walk up the hill. For more information, contact Jennifer at 747-0520.

August 21, 2016 by Charles Bingham

Scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer

For the first time in eight years, the Sitka Local Foods Network hosted Sitka Farmers Markets in back-to-back weeks, with our fifth of seven Sitka Farmers Markets of the 2016 summer taking place on Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. We also had a rainy market on Aug. 13, so it was nice to see a bit of sun for this week’s market.

One of our new vendors this week was Sitka Salmon Shares, a community-supported fishery program that sells a variety of fish caught in Sitka and other parts of Southeast Alaska to 2,500 subscribers in six Midwest states. Sitka Salmon Shares, which sells fish in 23 farmers markets in the Lower 48, brought out some of its new smoked salmon products to the Sitka Farmers Market.

The two remaining markets this summer are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Sept. 3, and Sept. 10 at the ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.). The Sitka Farmers Markets receive sponsorship funding from the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). Don’t forget to vote for the Sitka Farmers Market in the American Farmland Trust’s eighth annual Farmers Market Celebration.

Also, mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 17, which is the tentative date of the annual Running of the Boots costumed fun-run fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network. We’ll post more details later, once we get the event organized.

A slideshow of scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2016 summer is below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

August 21, 2016 by Charles Bingham

UAF Cooperative Extension Service to host forest and tree pest detector workshops in Sitka, Juneau

Invasive pests threaten our natural areas and our community trees. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service is launching a program to train First Detectors to be the first line of defense against invasive pests in their communities. Help prevent new pests from joining the green alder sawfly and spruce aphid as established pests in Southeast Alaska.

Learn about:

What makes forests healthy
What makes a species invasive
What to look for and important resources
Invasive forest insects of concern in Alaska
How to report and submit potential invasive species findings

The Sitka training is from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Sitka Public Library. The Juneau training is from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at the Mendenhall Valley Branch Library. Both training sessions are free.

For more information, contact Jessie Moan at 907-786-6309 or mjmoan@alaska.edu.