Sitka Local Foods Network monthly newsletter for February 2022

Workshop to discuss Sitka's food security

The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a community-focussed food system asset-mapping workshop from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, using Zoom. Sitka is one of 13 communities/regions participating in a USDA Regional Food System Partnership grant, coordinated by the Alaska Food Policy Council. Food system leaders from each community have been meeting for a year, and now this series of asset-mapping workshops gives residents of those communities an opportunity to weigh in on their local food systems and how they can be improved. The results of these facilitated meetings will be used to create a 10-year food security plan for Alaska. To participate, please send an email by Tuesday, Feb. 15, to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com and put "Food security" in the subject line. Space is limited. A Zoom link will be emailed to all who RSVP a few days before the workshop. For more details, click this link.

Food business innovation contest opens

Do you have the next great idea for a food business or product from Sitka? Do you grow food, fish for food, or cook food in Sitka? The Sitka Local Foods Network is hosting the fifth annual Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest in an effort to encourage local food entrepreneurs to make more local food available to residents and visitors to Sitka. There are two $1,500 prizes to launch or expand a business. There is a $25 entry fee, and entries are due before 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18 (applications and entry fees must be in hand), at Sitka Local Foods Network, 408-D Marine Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835, or by email to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com, attention Food Business Contest. For more information and to download the entry form, click this link.

Pick.Click.Give. lets you support Sitka

We're a month into 2022, and many Alaskans are applying for their 2022 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends. Did you know you can support 23 Sitka-based nonprofits (including the Sitka Local Foods Network) and 634 nonprofits around the state through the Pick.Click.Give. charitable donations program when you file for your PFD? In 2021, 35 donors gave just under $2,000 to the Sitka Local Foods Network through Pick.Click.Give., and more than $3 million to more than 600 Alaska nonprofits. The PFD filing period opens on Saturday, Jan. 1, and closes on Thursday, March 31. Click this link to learn how you can donate through Pick.Click.Give. If you want to support us but aren't eligible for the Alaska PFD program, click this link to learn how you can donate to one of our online donation sites. Thank you for your support.

Support us by buying a t-shirt or hoodie

Want to support the Sitka Local Foods Network as we try to improve food security in Sitka? Buy a t-shirt or hoodie from our new online store. Proceeds from the fundraiser will help us as we grow fresh local produce at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm communal garden, hosting the Sitka Farmers Market, sponsoring the Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest, and connecting Sitka residents to gardening, cooking, and food preservation education opportunities. Ordering our shirts is easy, you do it online and they ship directly to your home (note, on the logos with different types of shirts shown you might have to scroll to the side to see more versions). We also recently added versions of the special logo design Sitka Farmers Market t-shirts from Lisa Teas Conaway, which include Chatham Strait Carrots, Biorka Beets, Redoubt Rhubarb, Kruzof Kale, and Sitka Sound Strawberries. These make great holiday gifts, too. For more details, click this link.

2022 sponsorship program opens

The 2022 Sitka Local Foods Network sponsorship program is launching. Businesses and individuals are encouraged to contribute to help us keep our programs going and fulfill our mission of increasing the amount of locally harvested and produced foods in the diets of Southeast Alaskans. Your donations help us host the Sitka Farmers Market, grow food at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm (we ordered new high tunnels, at about $5,000 each, in 2020 and 2021 so we can grow more produce for the markets), provide garden education classes in the spring, and sponsor the Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest. Food security is a tenuous thing in Sitka, and we're trying to do our part to improve our community food security.

We thank the Alaska Comprehensive Cancer Control Partnership, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), ALPS Federal Credit Union, Sea Mart and Market Center, the employees of First National Bank Alaska, Harry Race/White's Inc., Linda Schmidt, and The Skaggs Foundation for donating in 2021. We also thank the Sitka White Elephant Shop (White E), Sitka True Value, and Sweet Sisters Caramels for supporting us with their sponsorships for 2020. In addition, we thank The Alaska Community Foundation, the Sitka Legacy Foundation, David and Margaret Steward, Amanda Anjum, Charles Bingham, and our other individual donors for their support. To learn more about our sponsorship program, click this link.

Like local food? Join our board of directors

Did you enjoy 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 need board members to keep things going, and volunteers to help with the Sitka Farmers Market and growing food at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm. If we don't find new board members, we may have to scale back our programs.

For more details, please click this link . This page has links to our board job descriptions and applications. Our next online board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Due to COVID-19 coronavirus health concerns and the need to social-distance, we will meet using Zoom online meetings (email us at the address below for a meeting link). Feel free to check us out. Our meetings are open to the public. For details and a meeting link, contact SLFN board president Charles Bingham at 907-623-7660 or sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.