Food Systems Network Gatherings, afpc events & conferences
Recap: April 2025 Alaska Food Systems Network Gathering
By Meghan Hargis, Special Events Coordinator, AFPC
The April 2025 Alaska Food Systems Network Gathering, held virtually on April 30th, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state. The event welcomed farmers, fishers, food entrepreneurs, community organizations, food pantry representatives, and food enthusiasts for a lunch time meeting filled with learning and sharing of opportunities. These quarterly gatherings stemmed from a desire to continue the food systems conversations between our conferences and to keep our forward momentum and collaboration strong throughout the year!
Highlights from the April Q2 Gathering
The gathering opened with a collaborative Mural activity (pictured below), prompting attendees to share a “temperature check.” This was a great opportunity for our partners, farmers, producers, and beyond to share how they’re feeling with potential or realized funding cuts. There was a wide variety of responses, with the majority of attendees pulling a yellow text block, indicating that they fall somewhere in the middle.
Activity showing who was present at the meeting, by name on the map and by organization logo on the right!
Guest Speakers & What They Shared
This quarterly gathering provided a platform for the Alaska Food Policy Council to celebrate our recent Alaska Food Festival & Conference in Kodiak, highlighting the Food Hero Awardees and the recent availability of the session recordings. Whether you were able to join us in Kodiak or not, the sessions recordings are available for your viewing on our website. AFPC’s Advocacy & Policy Director, Rachel Lord, shared information on how to stay engaged with the Alaska legislature while they’re in session. Be sure to sign up for weekly “On the Menu” emails where she shares the updates to food-related bills we’re watching.
We also heard from guest speaker Marysia Szymkowiak and her work with NOAA on the community adaptation planning effort. The planning effort focuses on climate adaptation and resilience in Alaska’s gulf fishing communities. As marine ecosystems change due to climate change, key organizations have partnered on the community adaptation planning effort to support resilience in “Cordova, Kodiak, and Sitka, by developing plans that maintain fisheries and a thriving blue economy, protect the ecosystem, and promote energy independence and economic diversification.” Learn more about the project here. If you have additional questions for Marysia, she can be reached at marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov.
Thank you for joining us, Marysia!
What’s Coming Up 
Don’t forget to sign up for July’s gathering, happening July 24th from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Keep an eye out for additional information about the July gathering – it will be a cook-along, so we will send out the recipe we’ll be guiding you through soon!
