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Alaska Market Beet:
News for and by Alaska's Farmers Market (and Food Hub, FarmStand, & CSA) Community!
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Gather & Grow!
Join us this Friday, April 8th, 8 am - 5:15 pm for our 2022 AFMA Statewide Virtual Summit & Annual Meeting
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“Whether you have run a market for 10 years or are just in the planning stages, the Alaska Farmers Markets Association is open to anyone interested in learning more about Alaska's farmers markets, CSAs (community supported agriculture programs), farm stands, and food hubs,” said AFMA director Robbi Mixon, who recently was named to the board of directors for the national Farmers Market Coalition. “Grow your network and learn from market managers, farmers, government officials, and more.”
The keynote speakers this year are Mat-Su Health Foundation President/CEO Elizabeth A. Ripley and Dr. Gail Meyers, co-founder of Farms to Grow, Inc. Other presentations and discussion panels will be on how to keep farmers markets safe and the public healthy, why a census of agriculture matters for food security in Alaska, National Farmers Market Week events, a lunch-and-learn on ranked-choice voting, farmers market evaluation and data collection, food access programs, and more.
Conference sponsors include Cook Inletkeeper, the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service, and MarketLink (a program of the National Association of Farmers Market Nutrition). The Farmers Market Coalition will assist with some presentations and discussion panels.
Funding for the summit was provided by a 2021-24 Farmers Market Promotion Program grant from the USDA.
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Website & Print Directory Updates
That's right - the market season is right around the corner! We're gearing up for a great 2022 season and have some exciting updates to share. Through a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant, our website is getting a facelift, including our market directory! This year there are two, separate surveys: one for markets and food hubs, and one for CSA's and farm stands.
Please fill out the survey that is appropriate to your business or operation no later than ASAP!
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Farmers Market Coalition:
Introducing the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit
"Developed by a group of Black food system leaders and experts, the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit offers ways for managers to reflect the concepts of anti-racism within their farmers market organizations and to make necessary adjustments to the structure, design, and operations of the market itself.
The toolkit development has been supported by FMC, and is made for farmers market operators everywhere who are ready to start working towards running an anti-racist farmers market. Farmers markets are an important place for communities to build and congregate through food. But do all community members feel welcomed and a sense of belonging?
Here at FMC, we eat, sleep, and breathe farmers markets and as a result we see the incredible impacts markets can and do have on their community every day. We also see both the limitations of the farmers market model and the inequities at the heart of the system on which farmers markets are built. FMC supports farmers market organizations as entities that should tackle racial injustices in the food system through inclusive design, participatory management, and attention to systemic goals.
Read more about how FMC views farmers markets as agents of systemic change in a new blog post from FMC Executive Director, Ben Feldman.
This toolkit can help market operators look within their organizational structures and culture and make changes to improve market experiences for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.
Learn anti-racism concepts within the context of farmers markets and how to implement them in your market's strategic plan and culture. Start the work of creating safe and joyful space for all."
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2022 AFMA - Specialized Marketing Assistance Application - Due MAY 16th, 12pm
The Alaska Farmers Market Association is pleased to announce the opening of its application for Specialized Marketing Assistance to all member markets, farm stands, and food hubs. This program is funded by a USDA FMPP Grant and will be distributed by fiscal sponsoring organization, Cook Inletkeeper. We have $15,000 to distribute amongst eligible markets, farmstands, and food hubs for the 2022 Market Season.
- Please read the full list of requirements in the application
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Under the leadership of Kyra Harty, we are launching an Alaskan Chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition (www.youngfarmers.org), a national nonprofit whose mission is to "...shift power and change policy to equitably resource our new generation of working farmers." The Chapter will serve beginning and young farmers/ranchers in Alaska.
We are collecting individual information such as contact information, farm types, experience, demographics, and interest levels for participating in the Chapter in order to identify the Chapter's direction, trends, and insights that can help bring the group together.
We will keep your answers confidential and all results produced will be anonymous. Feel free to contact Kyra Harty at 907-235-4068 ext 20 or email her at Kyra@AlaskaFarmersMarkets.org if you have any questions or would like more information.
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Proposal Solicitation for Farm Manager Contracted Position at Pilgrim Hot Springs
As a co-managing owner of Unaatuq, LLC for Pilgrim Hot Springs Kawerak, Inc. is soliciting Proposals for the contracted position of a Farm Manager for Pilgrim Hot Springs. The Farm Manager (Contractor) will work to implement Pilgrim Hot Springs’ Food Production and Distribution Model during the summer of 2022. The Farm Manager will lead all agriculture efforts, and will live and work onsite at Pilgrim Hot Springs during the planting, growing, and harvesting seasons. This is a seasonal contracted position.
Download the full RFP here: https://kawerak.org/download/request-for-proposals-farm-manager-contract/
For more information contact: Amanda Toerdal, pilgrim@kawerak.org. 907-443-4278
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