Watch the Webinar Recording here

The first in our 2021 series on Alaska food systems issues, the Alaska Food Policy Council invites you to attend this hour and a half presentation and working session on food transportation in Alaska. We will kick off with a background presentation on food transport state-of-affairs and challenges in the state, followed by an expert panel. The session will end with an active breakout session to gather feedback and thoughts from the greater Alaskan community on the issues presented. Feedback will then be aggregated and distributed to the group after the session has ended. Join us to learn and discuss this matter, which is so critical to communities across the state. We will open up with a general overview of food system transportation conditions in Alaska, followed by a panelist discussion, then move on to sector-specific break-out room discussions.

Speakers included:

• Chelsea Ward-Walker, Anchorage Muni transport expert
• Sandra Harbanuk – Alaska WIC
• Walter Pickett – AC Stores
• Kyla Byers – Arctic Harvest Deliveries
• Bryce Wrigley – Alaska Flour Company

Thanks to those who attended our Food Transportation webinar! We were delighted with the turnout, over 50 people showed up to learn more about food transportation and offer their own insights. We’ve already collected some feedback from attendees, which will be aggregated into a publicly available summary, available soon.

Over 90% of survey respondents said they were satisfied with the webinar and offered advice and insights about future webinars and food transportation.

What are your top 3 concerns about food transportation in Alaska?

• “Cold storage facilities, reliable temp control shipping to rural communities, and cost of transportation”
• “1)Rural places (sic) being cut off during a shortage or during times where the usual infrastructure is out of whack. 2) The fact that we ship our fish out to other places to process…”

What do you think your community’s biggest challenge is for accessing fresh, healthy food?

• “reliability in case of disruptions, not enough local availability”
• “Aging port infrastructure”
• “… it’s (sic) cost, and quality (mostly cosmetic, and taste, not safety), for the smaller YK Delta villages: cost (extremely prohibitive), quality (can include questionable food safety concerns)”