Learn about organic certification from an Alaskan kelp farmer’s perspective. Co-owned by Thea Thomas and Cale Herschleb, farm produces ribbon kelp and sugar kelp in Cordova, Alaska, while demonstrating the potential of mariculture to support local economies, food security, and sustainable food production.
Learn about organic certification from an Alaskan birch syrup producer’s perspective. Each spring, the team at Kahiltna Birchworks taps approximately 6,000 birch trees near Talkeetna, Alaska.
Local food manufacturing strengthens Alaska’s food systems, and businesses need support. “When Alaska food becomes Alaska-made products, the impact reaches far beyond the shelf.”
Kodiak Harvest Food Cooperative reopened in the downtown Kodiak Marketplace at the beginning of March, marking a major milestone in the cooperative’s continued growth and service to the community.
Food is basic infrastructure. This was a key message to our legislators. As important as roads and runways, food security is critical for a thriving state. And while a lot of good work has been done, there is much left to do.
Over the course of the conference, conversations kept circling back to a central message, that “farm to school” isn’t just a program, it’s a relationship between students and their food, between schools and local producers, and between health, culture, and place.
A town hall event was held in Kotzebue, Alaska on November 17th, 2025. The event was hosted by NW Arctic Takes Action and the Indigenous Outreach Program, with cuts in federal spending being the main driver of organizing this town hall. Food security was a heavy focus of the discussion that night, from issues of getting food out to the outlying villages, to how to deal with our dwindling caribou herd.
At the 2025 Alaska Agriculture Conference and Grazing Lands Symposium, over 250 farmers, ranchers, technical advisors, legislators, and more from Alaska and beyond gathered in Anchorage for three days of networking and learning about all things farming and grazing with the Alaska Farm Bureau and the Homer Soil & Water Conservation District.
In Homer, Alaska, the Kachemak Kelp Hub is playing a key role in the growth of the state’s seaweed industry. Founded by Evie Witten and Kathryn Carovano, the Hub focuses on processing, research, and market connections that Alaska’s growing kelp industry needs to thrive.
The 2025 Local Seafood Summit was held in Gulf Shores, Alabama from November 9th-12th. The summit brought together a vibrant, coast-spanning community bound by a shared purpose: protecting and uplifting local seafood systems.