Together We Can Make Southeast Alaska’s Food System More Resilient.
Food is not just about what we eat. It’s also about where it comes from and the connections it creates between people and places along the way. Join us on a journey to explore and transform Southeast Alaska’s food system by being part of the Local Foods Challenge.
As a participant in this Challenge, you will join others in reshaping and fostering resilience within our local and regional food systems while increasing community wellness for both the short and long-term.
We ask you to deepen your involvement in the local food system by cultivating and elevating your personal knowledge, skills, and connection to the local food system within your community.
Here’s how it works:
When you sign up, you’ll take a survey to assess your involvement in 10 distinct categories of the local food system. Your challenge from May to September is to deepen your connection to the local food system by increasing your level of engagement for each category. The more levels you go, the more resilient our food system will be by September. At the end of the challenge, we will tally the progress of all of the challengers to discover how much we collectively shift our food system’s resilience.
To help you on this local food journey, we will connect you to resources related to all 10 categories, and we will share stories via email and social media to inspire and celebrate our successes.
The Local Foods Challenge is about building a community of Southeast Alaskans who care about local foods. We will share knowledge, resources, place-based advice, and best practices across our unique region.
Together we will forge a resilient, prosperous, and healthy Southeast Alaska. Sign up today and indulge in local foods stories below.
The Local Foods Challenge is taking place on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Peoples. We recognize the deep ways of knowing and relationships with local foods held by the Indigenous Peoples of this region, and are grateful for their stewardship of these lands and waters since time immemorial and today. Gunalchéesh, Haw’aa, Nt’oyaxsn, Thank You.
Tips, Tricks, Recipes, Profiles & More…
Have a story to contribute? A local food guru you want featured? Reach out, we’re listening.
Harvesting For Elders
This year, Brian Leblanc (Pictured above with his wife and daughter) received a grant through Spruce Root and the Sustainable Southeast Partnership funded by the Native American Agriculture Fund Rapid Response Funds. This grant is giving funds to Alaskans who are able...
10 Day Eat Local Challenge wraps up first annual SEAK Local Foods Challenge
What an amazing 10 Day Eat Local Challenge to wrap up our first annual SEAK Local Foods Challenge! Thank you to all who participated. During this challenge, people cooked meals with local ingredients foraged, grown, hunted, fished, bought locally, and/or shared from...
10 Day Eat Local Challenge for the SEAK Local Foods Challenge 2020 Finale
To finish off the 2020 SEAK Local Foods Challenge, you are challenged to make your meals as locally-sourced as possible for 10 days, starting this Friday, Sept. 18th! To participate, share photos of your meals to the Local Foods Challenge SEAK Facebook page...
Track Your Progress in the 2020 Local Foods Challenge
The following worksheet and questions will help you track your progress so far in the 2020 SEAK Local Foods Challenge. Instructions below.
What the slugs didn’t eat: A surprise affair with fresh herbs
Fresh Herb Garden by Christine Woll I’ve been gardening in Alaska for 10 years, and I think this summer was the toughest – the cool temps and rain were an omnipresent threat and the slugs were, to put it mildly – abundant. My herb garden, however, proved surprisingly...
Raising livestock in Southeast AK
Q & A with Sally McGuire of Haines Q: How did you come to raise your own livestock for food and why do you do it? A: I'm nearly 70 and have produced, harvested, processed, or bought local the lion's share of my family's food. I learned how to do this...
Forest Fresh: A Forest-to-Table cooking blog
COOK/EAT/SHARE By Jennifer Nu This year, the popular Southeast Alaska food blog formerly known as Plant Guru has an exciting fresh new look. Forest Fresh Alaska is the new name of a blog run by couple Mary and Lucas Goddard who live in Sitka. Having lived and...
Rhubarb BBQ Sauce Recipe
Cook/Eat/Share/Appreciate By Lione Clare If you are blessed with giant rhubarb that produces more and more each year like my parents are, you can only make so much rhubarb pies, crisps, and sauce. This is a unique use for rhubarb I learned this year from my childhood...
Summer Produce – Kale
Harvest/Buy Local/Cook + Eat Text and Photos by Abigail Blinn There is quite a bit of food growing around Southeast Alaska and many ways to explore the summer harvest! I’m sharing some local growers and foodie’s favorite recipes, tips, and tricks for using garlic...
Composting 101 with John Hudson
Compost/Recover Gardening can be a challenge in Southeast Alaska. Our cool and wet summers combined with nutrient poor soils makes it difficult to grow the beautiful flowers and vegetables pictured on seed packets. While it’s hard to change the weather, there’s an...