advocacy, on the menu, state policy

On the Menu 02.06.26

February 6, 2026

By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC

We’re gearing up for Food Security Week in Juneau, starting Monday Feb. 9! Food advocates from around the state will be in the Capitol to talk about all things food with our legislature. 

There are a number of food-related hearings on next week’s AKLeg agenda. On Monday, 2/9, at 1PM, Jodie Anderson (Director, UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension) and Jenn Wagaman (Director, Cooperative Extension Services) will present to House Resources. Tuesday, 2/10, at 8AM in House Tribal Affairs, AFPC will present (me, Robbi, and Tikaan Galbreath – Co-Vice Chair of our Board & Chief Operating Officer at First Alaskans Institute) along with Dr. Mike Jones from UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research talking about aviation supply chains for fresh foods and medicines to off-road Alaska. 

On Wednesday, 2/11, at 1:30PM in House Finance, the Department of Health will be giving an update of SNAP and Medicaid implementation after H.R.1 – see a similar discussion below from this week in Senate HSS. Also at 1:30PM next Wednesday in Senate Labor & Commerce will be a presentation on Alaska’s Agriculture Industry by Alaska Farm Bureau, Alaska Farmland Trust, and Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land, and Water. 

Thursday, 2/12, at 8AM in House Tribal Affairs the Food Bank of Alaska will give a presentation. At 9AM in Senate Finance, the Department of Health will present on the Rural Health Transformation Program. At 1:30PM, you can see a presentation by Jodie Anderson from UAF IANRE to the Senate Special Committee on Arctic Affairs. There will be another Rural Health Transformation Program hearing at 3:30PM, this time a joint hearing with both the House and Senate Health & Social Services committees. 

It was a light week on bills, but busy on hearings with updates on various topics that intersect Alaska’s food systems.

Updates

HB 202 – Designating the giant cabbage as the State vegetable

HB 202 would designate the giant cabbage as the official state vegetable of Alaska and add this designation to state statute. The bill was heard with public testimony in House State Affairs on Tuesday and was moved out of committee. Palmer-area Representative and bill sponsor DeLena Johnson provided a bill overview. She noted that the bill was suggested by a local resident whose mother was an original Cooperative Extension agent and father was a scientist and that both came to Alaska with the Matanuska colony project. She spoke to the Alaska State Fair giant cabbage weigh-off, which began with the Fair in the mid-1930s and that Alaska has had the largest cabbage in the world every year we’ve had a weigh-off since (apparently we have some competition in Wales….). Rep. Johnson spoke to our large number of farms and agricultural products, and that it is the time we have a state vegetable! She acknowledged the competition from the carrot, but said they are underground and not always visible. Her staff then gave a brief presentation with some history of vegetable cultivation in Alaska, and current ag statistics. He also shared that a Palmer cabbage holds the Guiness World Records for largest green cabbage ever grown at 138.25 pounds in 2012. Sixteen other states have official vegetables. The committee requested samples (jokingly, but possibly get ready for a corned beef and cabbage invitation from Rep. Johnson!). Rep. Himschoot noted that they don’t grow giant cabbages in Southeast Alaska, but that she has embraced the cabbage and there was discussion about how to get cabbage lapel pins made for the legislature. The committee adopted a substitute that updated the scientific name to the O-S Cross cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) in the bill, and passed it out of committee. There was no public testimony. On BASIS you can see letters of support, including from UAF, Alaska Farmland Trust, and others.  You can watch the 20 minute bill hearing here.      

HB 202 is now in the House Rules committee, awaiting scheduling for a floor vote. You can read an AFPC guest blog on the Alaska State Fair Cabbage Fairies on our website. 

Medicaid and SNAP Presentation – Department of Health

In the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Tuesday, Dept. of Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg, Deputy Commissioner Emily Ricci, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bob Lawrence gave an overview of the Department of Health and H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill from last summer, specifically in regards to Medicaid and SNAP. Starting about 44 minutes in, they focus generally on the Division of Public Assistance including modernization of the IT processes and improved numbers and timelines for serving Alaskans. There is an ongoing analysis of the job class and pay for eligibility technicians, with the study planned for release this summer. Sen. Dunbar asked about the use of out of state contractors doing eligibility work for SNAP. The state has contracted with Public Consulting Group, and they are going through training and negotiation. Director Ethridge noted that Alaska is one of the first states to get a federal waiver to try using non-state staff to process SNAP applications. She also noted that she will always strive to have the State of Alaska staff doing this work, but right now they are looking for support getting out of the backlogs that continue to plague the Division. Sen. Claman asked about the timeline of getting this work back into the state, and Director Ethridge noted her timeline is directly tied to getting out of the backlog, tied to both staffing improvements and technology upgrades. You can hear this part of the conversation here. 

Slightly later in the hearing, Commissioner Hedberg gave a brief overview of the changes to SNAP as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last summer by Congress. She spoke quickly to the expanded work requirements for anyone ages 18-64. She then moved to the cost shift penalties for high error rates. In Alaska, we have had an error rate of 60% which is now down to 24%. The Department is working towards a goal of less than 6% in order to avoid the state having to pay for SNAP benefits, and they will be applying for a waiver to USDA to get more time to meet that goal beyond 2028. Finally, she spoke to the cost shift for additional administrative costs to be paid by the state, from 50-50 to 75-25.    

Senator Dunbar asked about the administrative cost shift dollar amount, noting that he heard $47.5M per year (note that we’ve heard around $10M). There was some confusion among the Department staff, but Director Ethridge was able to confirm that administrative cost shift begins in FY27 – the year the legislature is currently budgeting for. The Commissioner was unable to provide a dollar amount, and said they would get back to the Committee. 

Sen. Dunbar then asked about the estimated 4,500 to 6,900 of Alaskans who may lose SNAP benefits as estimated by the Food Bank of Alaska because of the provisions in HR1. Director Etheridge said no, those are not their estimations. They applied to the federal government for a good faith waiver for one year to delay the new work requirements, and are working to develop systems to make it simpler for individuals to verify work requirements and implement a “robust ABAWD program” (ABAWD = Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents). Sen. Tobin bristled, noting that there used to be work requirement exemptions for people including veterans, houseless individuals, youth leaving foster care, people caring for dependents over 14, and others. Director Etheridge confirmed those groups of people are no longer considered exempt, though there is an expanded Alaska Native exemption, and they applied for the waiver to be able to work through Alaska’s “unique circumstances”. Sen. Tobin asked how the Department is determining that someone meets the Alaska Native exemption; Director Etheridge said it’s a voluntary collection of that information from individuals. Sen. Tobin also asked how homelessness is proven, and Director Etheridge said it is done through an attestation. 

Sen. Claman asked if the state has ever been under a 6% error rate. Director Etheridge said in 2011-2014 we were as low as 0.76% and in 2017-2018 were closer to 7% and it has risen since then. Sen. Dunbar asked the Department to provide in writing a sincere estimate of the number of people who will likely no longer qualify for food assistance under the new requirements. You can watch this SNAP portion of the hearing here and see the Department’s presentation here. 

Alaska State Emergency Operations Center Update

On Tuesday, a joint hearing with House Community & Regional Affairs + Tribal Affairs Committees heard the continuation of an update from the Alaska State Emergency Operations Center, with a  focus on Alaskans displaced by Typhoon Halong. (related – see this beautiful story in the New York Times from Alaskan writer Julia O’Malley, on the ongoing displacement from Typhoon Halong and the central role of food and lands in being far from home) You can watch the hearing here.

AK Dept. of Transportation Reorganization

ADOT Commissioner Ryan Anderson and Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith provided an overview of Senate Transportation on Tuesday on their big plans for reorganizing ADOT. The presentation outlines the planned changes, which seem fairly significant. I haven’t watched the hearing yet, but if your work is impacted by ADOT – highways, airports, Marine Highway, and more – check it out. You can see the presentation here, and watch the hearing here. 

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI)

On Thursday afternoon at 1:30PM there was a presentation by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to the House Finance Committee. You can see their presentation slides here, and watch the hearing here. Check out the last few minutes for some discussion around large and small boat fisheries. 

No Changes This Week:

Check out our bill tracker here to see all the food policy bills we are tracking, and where they are in the legislative process.

Budget

On Tuesday, the University of Alaska Finance Subcommittee heard a budget overview by UA President Pat Pitney. I did not follow this hearing, but will highlight the $3M multi-year request from the Board of Regents for Agriculture and Food Systems at UAF. There is also a $2M capital request for a UAS Sitka campus new dock and mariculture training facility (phase 2) – see page 14 of the presentation. Watch the hearing here. 

Friday afternoon, The House Finance Committee will hear an overview of the Governor’s budget for the Departments of Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation, and Fish & Game. You can review the various documents for this meeting here.

Alaska State Budget Resources

Upcoming Public Testimony

SB 200 – Farm & Ag land assessments

Tuesday, February 10, Senate Community & Regional Affairs, 1:30PM

Remember – things can (and often will) change! If there is a bill you’re particularly interested in, text the bill number (ie. HB202) to 559-245-2529 and you’ll get text alerts when its status changes!

Hearings can be watched on Gavel/KTOO, and you can check out our calendar of hearings for bills we are watching here.