Sitka Local Foods Network monthly newsletter for November 2018

Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit in Sitka

The Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit will take place Friday through Sunday, Feb. 15-17, 2019, at Sweetland Hall on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp (old Sheldon Jackson College) campus and Harrigan Centennial Hall in Sitka. There also is an optional all-day produce grower safety training on Monday, Feb. 18. This conference happens every other year, with past locations being Petersburg (2015) and Haines (2017). The summit features a variety of local farmers discussing what works and doesn't work for their operations in Southeast Alaska. There also will be in-depth training sessions on topics such as cover crops, composting, pest disease management, employees and interns, hydroponics, and more. The summit is being coordinated by the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, and the Sitka Local Foods Network has been asked to host a local foods potluck or catered dinner on Friday night and to provide rides to and from the airport or ferry terminal for out-of-town guests at the summit. We will need volunteers to help provide these services, so please contact Charles Bingham at 623-7660 or charleswbingham3@gmail.com if you can help. To learn more about the summit, click this link .

#GivingTuesday fundraisers set for Nov. 27

You've heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, three consumer-oriented shopping holidays that happen during the week after Thanksgiving. But have you heard about Giving Tuesday (aka, #GivingTuesday), which is a holiday where people can give back to local nonprofits working in their communities. This year, the Sitka Local Foods Network will host a pair of #GivingTuesday fundraisers — our usual one on MightyCause.com (formerly Razoo.com) and one on Facebook that has the potential for matching dollars from Facebook and PayPal. To learn more about the fundraisers, click this link.

Like local food in Sitka? Please join our board of directors

Are you enjoying the fresh local veggies at the Sitka Farmers Market this summer? Did you take one of our garden education classes this spring? Do you have an interest in getting more access to locally grown, harvested and produced food, and an interest in food security? If so, please consider joining our board of directors. We need new board members to keep offering these programs, and we'd love to have you join us. We just found out two of our current board members are leaving town this summer, so if you've ever thought about joining our board this is the time to do it. We need board members to keep things going. For more details, please click this link. This page has links to our board job descriptions and applications. Our next meeting will be from 6-7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Sitka Public Library. Feel free to check us out. Our meetings are open to the public.