The Alaska Food Policy Council, in partnership with the State of Alaska Division of Agriculture, the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research, Dewberry Engineers, and Kitchen Sync Strategies, is leading a multi-year effort to strengthen Alaska’s food system through improved coordination across the food value chain.
From farmers and processors to transporters, retailers, and consumers, this work supports the connections that allow food to move effectively and equitably throughout Alaska. The cornerstone of this effort is the Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council—a statewide advisory group working together to identify bottlenecks, share strategies, and develop solutions to improve the movement of food in and around Alaska.
Alaska’s Food Value Chain
A food value chain refers to the full range of activities and relationships that bring food from production to consumption and adding value at each stage. This includes growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, distribution, retail, and recovery.
In Alaska, our food systems are shaped by unique geographic, cultural, and logistical realities. Challenges like long distances, limited infrastructure, and seasonal access require a coordinated approach for success.
This work is designed to reflect and respond to Alaska’s diverse regions, stakeholders, and strengths.
Value Chain Coordination Council
The Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council is a voluntary, cross-sector stakeholder group with a shared goal of improving the movement of food in and around Alaska. The Council brings together producers, processors, shippers, retailers, nonprofits, researchers, Tribal organizations, state and federal agencies, and others to:
- Identify barriers in food movement
- Track progress over time
- Share solutions and best practices
- Inform public policy and investment
The Council will meet regularly from 2025–2027.
October 6, 2025
The October 6, 2025 agenda can be seen here.
More than fifty participants joined the first statewide meeting of the Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council (VCCC) to begin identifying and addressing barriers in how food moves across Alaska. The October meeting focused on building a foundation and connecting across sectors to surface common challenges and opportunities in Alaska’s food supply chain.
Meeting slides are available here.
Key Themes
Infrastructure & Transportation – Many communities rely entirely on aviation for food delivery, but aging infrastructure, limited maintenance, and a lack of reliable weather and communication systems create persistent vulnerabilities. Cold storage capacity is limited statewide, leading to spoilage and waste.
Communication & Coordination – Participants highlighted the need for better real-time information sharing among shippers, distributors, and agencies. Tools like the ADOT Alaska Aviation Database and DOT’s 511 platform could play a larger role in connecting stakeholders.
Market Access & Local Value-Added Production – Local producers face steep competition from imported foods and challenges with aggregation, packaging, processing facilities, and distribution. Schools and institutions often want to buy Alaskan Grown food but often lack the systems or flexibility to do so.
Policy & Systems Alignment – Outdated procurement rules, permitting processes, and definitions of “local” or “Alaska Grown” don’t always fit Alaska’s realities. Aligning state and federal regulations to improve efficiency and resilience was discussed.
Next Steps
The Council’s next phase will focus on moving from discussion to coordinated action through ongoing quarterly meetings and targeted efforts.
The next VCCC meeting will be held online December 8, 2025, with quarterly meetings through 2026 and an in-person session during the AFPC Conference in Fairbanks, October 22–24, 2026.
Participants are encouraged to stay engaged and help shape the working groups that will drive tangible progress in the movement of food across Alaska.
December 8, 2025
The December 8, 2025 agenda can be seen here.
Meeting slides (pdf)
Intra-Alaska Bypass Mail Intro (pdf), Dr. Mike Jones UAA-ISER
We held the second VCCC meeting on Monday, December 8. Nearly 50 participants joined the online discussion, representing food producers, retailers, air carriers, Tribal organizations, distributors, schools, state agencies, community organizations, and more.
The conversation centered on two topics: USPS Bypass Mail and in-state backhaul opportunities. Together, our discussions highlighted both the structural constraints of existing systems and emerging opportunities to improve food movement, especially for rural communities and small Alaska-based businesses.
Key Themes
Understanding USPS Bypass Mail
USPS Bypass Mail is a critical program for many rural Alaska communities, moving a significant share of mail and cargo across western and northern regions of the state. Participants heard an overview of Intra-Alaska Bypass Mail from Dr. Mike Jones, including its regulatory framework, rate-setting process, and operational requirements.
There was a robust Q & A with USPS Bypass Mail staff. In the new year, we will be providing a summary of our Bypass discussion, along with a data tool developed to help shippers evaluate the financial tradeoffs of air shipping alternatives when accounting for spoilage rates using Bypass.
Backhaul as an Opportunity for In-State Food Movement
The second half of the meeting focused on backhaul, or the use of return freight capacity to move goods within Alaska. Participants shared real-world experiences that illustrated both the promise and the current limitations of in-state backhaul.
Small retailers and producers described challenges accessing reliable, affordable transportation for relatively small shipments, particularly between regions such as Mat-Su, Homer, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. The absence of logistics providers that specialize in small-scale aggregation was identified as a major gap.
Air carriers, meanwhile, emphasized that unused lift capacity exists, especially on return flights from rural communities to Anchorage. Carriers expressed interest in filling that capacity with dense, heavy products—such as seafood, game meat, or manufactured goods—when coordination and aggregation are possible.
Across both discussions, participants noted that Alaska’s food movement systems are particularly challenging for:
- Small and mid-sized producers
- Independent retailers
- Rural and remote communities
- Products requiring refrigeration or freezing
Participants shared examples of informal, ad hoc solutions currently filling these gaps, and discussed several ideas for more systemic solutions.
Looking Ahead
There was strong interest in further exploring models that support shipment aggregation, improve communication between shippers and carriers, improved airport infrastructure for freeze/chill storage, and help for small producers and retailers to navigate existing systems more effectively. In the new year, we will be sending out additional resources, and engaging participants interested in working groups to further discuss backhaul, aggregation, and other identified opportunities.
The next VCC meeting will be on Monday, February 3, 2026 from 1-3PM. Stay tuned for more details, and reach out if you would like to be added to the contact list.
March 2, 2026
The Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council met Monday, March 2 from 1-3PM.
The meeting agenda is here.
What was Discussed
The meeting covered three main areas:
- a data presentation on food procurement and spoilage,
- a facilitated panel discussion on institutional food procurement strategies, and
- an overview of the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Key topics from the panel included how air carriers and school procurement leaders across Alaska navigate ordering cycles, shipment visibility, seasonal challenges, weather impacts, and practical recommendations from both the carriers and school food buyers. Topics addressed included:
- Shipping Methods Evaluation: Dr. Mike Jones presented a shipping cost model incorporating spoilage rates and food procurement dashboards.
- Ordering Cycles & Lead Times: Panelists discussed how school districts and Head Start programs plan food orders 1–3 months in advance, and the challenges of aligning delivery timelines with program calendars as well as Bypass mail delivery backlog periods.
- Carrier Operations & Visibility: Air carriers described the difficulty of managing unpredictable freight volumes and the challenges of advance visibility into incoming Bypass shipments. Existing resources were shared for further exploration.
- Seasonal & Weather Challenges: Weather was identified as the single greatest disrupter of food deliveries to remote communities. Fresh food loss spikes in winter months, bad weather creates compounding backlogs, and delivery priority order (Priority Mail first, Bypass/freight last) delays food during peak volume periods.
- Weather reporting infrastructure was discussed, including the compounding impacts of AWOS unreliability. Substantial federal investments are expected to dramatically improve the reliability of this infrastructure.
- Packaging & Food Loss: Poorly wrapped or palletized shipments sustain damage across multiple handoffs. ISER data showed 15–20% loss rates for meat and frozen produce (Aug–Oct 2024).
- Rural Health Transformation Program: A discussion of opportunities and open questions related to the Alaska Department of Health’s Rural Health Transformation Program.
Key Takeaways from Conversation
1. Lack of supply chain visibility is the top operational challenge.
Air carriers highlighted variability and limited predictability in incoming shipment volumes, ranging from 1 pallet to 135. Options were shared, raising a question of whether existing systems or practices could be more effectively used to improve advance notice. Similarly, depending on shipment method, school food buyers often have no reliable way to track how long shipments take to travel from Anchorage to their sites, with delivery times ranging anywhere from 7 to 45 days.
2. Proactive buyer-to-carrier communication is a simple, high-impact best practice.
Some school districts have a practice of alerting their air carriers when they place orders, which stood out as a low-effort, high-value habit that gave carriers useful lead time. Panelists agreed that advance notice from buyers about order contents and timing could meaningfully improve coordination across the chain. Station agents are contractors with air carriers, and the carriers are often the last to know about operational needs.
3. Weather and mail prioritization create compounding delivery backlogs.
Bad weather forces rapid accumulation of freight in carrier warehouses, and the mandated delivery priority order (Priority Mail → Non-Priority → Bypass → Freight) means food shipments — especially non-Bypass freight — can be significantly delayed during high-volume periods like November (post-PFD checks). When backlogs occur, pilots face significant pressure to fly as soon as conditions marginally improve. The “human toll” was discussed, noting carriers deliver until 9 PM, seven days a week during peak periods. Multiple panelists confirmed that many destinations are VFR-only, meaning AWOS reliability directly determines whether food shipments can be completed.
4. Packaging quality directly drives food loss.
Poorly palletized or inadequately wrapped shipments suffer significant damage across the 5+ sets of hands they pass through. Panelists cited ISER data showing 15–20% loss rates for meat and frozen produce (Aug–Oct 2024). Shippers providing better stickering & labeling (including adding extra stickers in the winter months as they can often fall off), wrapping, and mixed-pallet management by distributors and shippers were identified as practical near-term improvements. Ravens can be a problem, and owl decoys were discussed as a valuable deterrent.
Summary of Themes, Challenges, and Recommendations
| Theme | Key Challenge | Potential Actions |
| Supply Chain Visibility | Carriers often have little to no advance notice of shipment volumes; buyers can’t track delivery timelines depending on their shipping method | Explore and strengthen notification or visibility systems depending on shipping method between buyers, distributors, and carriers, including better utilization of existing tools where available. |
| Buyer-Carrier Communication | Buyers don’t often proactively share order details with air carriers before shipment | Adopt best practice of notifying carriers when orders are placed, and communicating when challenges arise |
| Weather & Delivery Backlogs | Bad weather + mail priority order causes food to sit in warehouses for days or weeks | Explore pre-ordering before winter and the Oct/Nov PFD backlog; advocate for more improvements to AWOS/weather station reliability (StarLink rollout ongoing); improve temperature controlled storage at airport hubs |
| Packaging & Food Loss | Poor palletizing and wrapping causes 15–20% food loss; 5+ handoffs amplify damage risk | Train shippers on improving pallet labeling, wrapping standards, and piece-count documentation |
April 20, 2026
The Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council met Monday, April 20 from 1-3PM.
The meeting agenda is here.
Select Engineering Solutions Slides
Southeast Conference Slides
The fourth meeting of the Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination Council brought together 46 participants from across Alaska’s food, transportation, economic development, and logistics sectors. The meeting focused on two primary topics:
- Innovation Spotlight: New cold-chain and insulation technologies that could reduce food spoilage and transportation costs.
- Food Movement in Southeast Alaska: Regional transportation assets, vulnerabilities, and opportunities to strengthen food distribution across Southeast communities.
There was also a call for interest in a Bypass Mail Working Group, which will work to develop third-party training materials to reduce human error in the bypass mail system.
Key Themes
Cold Chain Innovation
Select Engineering Services staff presented their MISER insulation system, designed for military uses to improve temperature control and reduce energy use in refrigerated transport. Participants discussed potential applications in Alaska and the need for additional information on performance, durability, and cost-effectiveness in civilian contexts.
Food Movement in Southeast Alaska
Kaitlyn Jared from Southeast Conference presented on the movement of food throughout Southeast Alaska. Southeast Alaska’s geography creates a food distribution network that differs significantly from the Railbelt and has some similarities and differences from Western Alaska.
Key characteristics in Southeast include:
- Heavy dependence on marine transportation and air cargo
- Reliance on a small number of freight providers and transportation routes
- Communities that are accessible only by air or water
- Significant seasonal population fluctuations driven by tourism
While Southeast benefits from established transportation providers and infrastructure, participants noted that many communities remain vulnerable to service disruptions, scheduling challenges, and rising freight costs.
Particular concern was raised for communities located off primary barge routes, where food often requires additional handling, repackaging, or self-directed transport from regional hubs.
Data and Planning Gaps
A recurring theme was the lack of data on how food moves throughout Alaska’s transportation network. Participants expressed interest in better understanding freight flows, the role of the Alaska Marine Highway System in food distribution, and how transportation investments can support food security and economic development.
Summary of Themes, Challenges, and Recommendations
| Theme | Key Challenge | Potential Actions |
| Cold-chain technology | MISER and similar systems have military-proven energy savings, but civilian ROI and Alaska applicability are unconfirmed | Pilot test with a Part 135 carrier; obtain R-value and cost benchmarks against standard pallet solutions |
| SE Alaska supply chain fragility | Single barge line serving most communities; infrastructure constraints limit storage and dock capacity | Explore infrastructure investment priorities; improve barge scheduling communication (e.g., Wrangell Narrows tidal coordination) |
| AMHS freight gaps | Ferry system lacks cargo-type data; freight requires an accompanying vehicle or passenger | Investigate one-way freight service feasibility; improve cargo data collection |
| Community food access | Communities off main barge routes receive food last, often reshuffled or incomplete | Prioritize last-mile solutions for off-route communities; investigate impacts of potential AMHS service reduction; develop a brief outlining the role of AMHS in food security |
| Backhaul & freight economics | Most food comes from WA; limited return freight keeps rates high | Develop value-added seafood and other regional exports to improve backhaul opportunity |
| Private sector representation | Independent grocers and food retailers underrepresented in regional transportation planning | Look for opportunities to create designated seats or engagement pathways for food industry in transportation planning processes |
The discussion reinforced the importance of transportation infrastructure, reliable freight service, and better data in strengthening Alaska’s food supply chain and improving food access across the state.
The next VCC meeting is September 14, 2026.
Food Value Chain Resources
Dr. Mike Jones speaks about the Regional Food Partnership Program at the 2025 Alaska Food Festival and Conference.
The Wallace Center has developed tools to support practitioners currently engaged in VCC work. Click below to access quicksheets that cover important topics such as roles, funding, and evaluation.
The Wallace Center and Kitchen Sync Strategies
developed a VCC Foundations Course.
Click below to access video series.
Get Involved
Are you working on part of Alaska’s food system and want to connect? The Alaska Food Value Chain Coordination effort is designed to be inclusive, collaborative, and solution-focused.
To get involved, email Rachel at advocacy@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org.
Our Partners… More to Come!
Background: From Planning to Action
The Alaska Food Policy Council is proud to be a two-time recipient of the USDA Regional Food System Partnership (RFSP) grant—first a Planning Grant in 2020, followed by an Implementation Grant in 2024. These grants have been instrumental in advancing collaborative, statewide efforts to improve food security, grow Alaska’s agricultural economy, and build a more resilient, equitable food system.
With support from the 2020 RFSP Planning Grant, AFPC facilitated 13 regional asset-mapping workshops in early 2022. These inclusive, community-based conversations highlighted both unique local strengths and shared priorities across the state. The result was the Alaska Food Security Action Plan—a multi-stakeholder roadmap designed to:
- Democratically address food system challenges
- Support local food producers
- Build lasting, community-led food security solutions
The action plan reflects a shared vision developed by stakeholders from every region of Alaska and is grounded in community knowledge, regional assets, and data-driven insights.
2024-2027 RFSP Implementation Project
Building on the work of our 2020-2022 project, along with our recent work in co-authoring both the Governor’s Food Security & Independence 2022 Task Force Report and the Alaska Legislative Food Strategy Task Force Report, two pressing needs have emerged:
- a centralized repository of food systems data and assets mapping, and the establishment and
- facilitation of a multi-stakeholder value chain coordination council.
Together with statewide partners, we have identified clear pathways to successfully launch these projects. Through executing our RFSP work plan, we will leverage our collective expertise to turn these needs into reality and make significant differences to increase food security, while supporting resilient local and regional economies, for all Alaskans.
USDA Statement
Support for the Food Value Chain Coordination program comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service Regional Food Systems Partnership Program.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. For information, refer to the USDA Non-Discrimination Statement.