advocacy, on the menu
September 2025 Food Advocacy Update
By Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC
September was Hunger Action Month, and a big shout out to the Food Bank of Alaska and Alaska Food Coalition partners across the state for their work every day working to get food to Alaskans. Earlier this month, Rachel and Robbi from AFPC traveled to Anchorage to attend the statewide Anti-Hunger Network Conference. Together, service providers, agency representatives, and advocates from across the state shared opportunities and challenges, and found strength in collaboration and learning. We made new friends and connected with old ones, all with a shared mission to end hunger in Alaska. If you missed the conference, or want to go back and review materials, you can find all of the session resources here!
Upcoming Public Comment Opportunities
- Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources Northeast Alaska Area Plan – deadline October 22.
- USDA FNS Food Stocking Standards for SNAP Retailers proposed update – deadline November 24, 2025
State Happenings
As Expected – Alaska Department of Agriculture heads to the courts – In mid-September, legislative leadership approved spending up to $100,000 on a lawsuit against the Governor if he proceeds with creating a Department of Agriculture based on his August Executive Order, which they say is unlawful. The next day, Governor Dunleavy sent a letter to the legislature’s leaders, letting them know that is exactly what he plans on doing. This Sept. 17 Alaska Beacon article lays out the situation as it currently stands.
The State Budget for FY27 is in the behind-the-scenes drafting mode, with state agencies developing their budgets to submit to the Governor. He then will prepare his version of the budget for release by December 15 (here’s a rundown of the operating budget process, from the Legislative Finance Division). The State of Alaska is facing significant uphill battles in an increasingly challenging fiscal landscape. One of these challenges comes from the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which will add an estimated $10 million to the Department of Health’s budget for an increased state-share of the administrative cost for SNAP from 50% to 75% (USDA implementation provisions). At AFPC, we see and hear from partners across the state the need for a stable, functioning public sector. We know the importance of our kids having food at school, of our airport runways being plowed quickly in winter, our state lands managed with enough people behind-the-scenes so that lease applications don’t drag on for years. We’ve been doing less with less for years now, and it’s hard to imagine going further down that path – but unfortunately it feels like where we’re heading if nothing changes.
Meanwhile, in D.C….
There is so much happening in D.C., it is a bit of a whirlwind to try and keep up and the ground seems to change sometimes hourly. At AFPC we focus primarily on state-level policy and partners, but the national scene has definitely taken center stage lately. Here is a grab-bag of a few items of note:
Federal Government Shut Down – Congress battled throughout September to figure out a path to fund the federal government by the end of the month, we are now in a costly and painful shutdown. Some programs have mandatory funding, but for everything else Congress needs to act. Alaska’s Governor issued a statement saying that we are ready to weather a federal shutdown, but that will only last for so long. From WIC and SNAP to farm support, there are federal employees and programs that Alaskans work with every day. We hope that a shutdown is short, and that the President and Congress can find a path to work together towards stability. For now, here are a few resources to help understand the impacts of the federal shutdown:
- USDA Lapse of Funding Plan, 9/30 (.pdf)
- Federal News Network – federal agencies’ shutdown contingency plans
- Sen. Murkowski Government Shutdown webpage
- National Congress of American Indians: Understanding federal government shutdown impacts on Tribal nations – webinar & resources
- Foraker Group blog – Federal Government Shutdown: What Alaska nonprofits need to know
USDA Ending the National Household Food Security Survey – With a short but wild press release on Sept. 20, USDA Secretary Rollins announced that the Department will no longer be collecting data and reporting on household food insecurity. Larry Persily has a tongue-in-cheek op-ed covering this in Alaskan newspapers this week, “Maybe ignorance really is bliss” (ADN, Homer News). AFPC believes that data and information is critical to decision-making, prioritization of efforts, and understanding impact. We encourage you to write to our Members of Congress and to USDA, sharing the value and importance of continuing this dataset.
RTCP Revitalization Act – Senator Sullivan (S.1758) and Rep. Begich (H.R. 5241) have both signed on as co-sponsors for the RTCP Revitalization Act, which would continue and expand funding for this farm support program targeted to “geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.” Under RTCP, the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment program, Alaskan producers can receive reimbursements for the cost of shipping in inputs needed for farming and ranching (learn more about RTCP here!). We’ve heard different experiences from folks across the state trying to use RTCP and would like to hear from you. Does it work? What would you like to see changed? We applaud both Sen. Sullivan and Rep. Begich for their support, and would love to see more Alaskan producers able to utilize the program.
USDA releases a Rural Veterinary Action Plan – Check out the plan here, and let us know what you think! Let USDA know what you think by sending comments to eia@usda.gov.
We are so thankful for you spending a minute with us and reviewing some of these things. The ground keeps shifting, and we’re doing our best to keep up. Let us know if there are issues you’re interested in, have questions on, or information about!
Till next month ~ Rachel
