Food Sovereignty

The food we eat is not only important to the nutritional health of our Southeast Alaskan communities, our food is our identity. Our partners work to forge resilient food systems that decrease dependence on outside sources, eliminate waste streams, promote knowledge and skill sharing networks, support tribal food sovereignty, cultivate place-based food enterprises and improve household and community health.

Our shared vision for a regional food system includes a sustainable supply of culturally revered wild foods, thriving agricultural enterprises, community self determination, and equitable access to fresh and nutritious foods for all Southeast Alaskans.

Education & local food system engagement

We support the exchange of traditional and local food knowledge across communities in Southeast Alaska. Initiatives like our Local Food Challenge, Moby the Mobile Greenhouse, and our tribal government’s Culture Camps aim to educate and give current and emerging local foods advocates the tools they need to harvest, buy, and cultivate healthy local nutrition.

Regenerative local food cultivation

We support regenerative agriculture with the smallest possible carbon and ecological footprint. To reduce importing inputs, we facilitate opportunities to recover underutilized resources by integrating community waste streams into local food cultivation efforts. This includes transforming fish processing and wood waste into organic fertilizers, diverting household and commercial food scraps to composting businesses, and reducing food waste. We also support intentional agricultural systems that complement and have minimal impact on wild food ecosystems.

Holistic community food system planning/networking

We work with communities to assess their food system’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities in order to inform short-term and long-term policy recommendations and increase community engagement. We organize opportunities for regional networking to strengthen connections between people and place like the Traditional Plants Summit & Celebration.

Access to Markets and Food-Business Support

We share resources and foster market opportunities for community-based food producers, processors, and entrepreneurs including programs like the Salt and Soil online marketplace and resources like our Direct Market Guide for local fishermen.

“Haa kusteeí áyá. Our culture, our foods, our way of being. This is who we are. Haa tóo yéi yatee. It exists inside of us. We are not just individuals - we are families, we are clan, we are communities. Collectively we are a reflection of our ancestors. We are their strength, their struggle, their resiliency. For those of you born into being Tlingit, it is something you’ve always known. For those of you who live among us and walk this land, it is something you can feel, something that becomes a part of you and just as much a responsibility for you to learn as it is to share."
Lgeik’i
Heather Powell