Healthy School Food Strengthens Alaska and Our Food Systems
School meals are about more than lunch trays—they’re a gateway to learning, health, community, and food system transformation. In Alaska, the school nutrition space is filled with energy and opportunity. From scratch cooking and culturally relevant meals to school gardens, local procurement, and seat time, communities are thinking creatively and working together to feed kids.
The Alaska Food Policy Council is proud to support these efforts by connecting people, sharing resources, and helping move ideas into action.
Interested in joining our new School Nutrition Working Group?
Working group meetings are currently scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month from 1:30-2:30PM.
Programs & Projects Across Alaska
This space is evolving every day, with exciting projects and partnerships happening across the state. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to scale up your impact, there’s something to learn from each other.
Producer Surveys
There is continued interest in identifying sources for Alaska Grown, Harvested, and Made products for Alaska’s schools (and other institutions!). As we hear of surveys and other resources, we will post them here.
- Alaska Food Product Contacts for Schools, updated Spring 2026 Crowdsourced from producers by the Alaska Food Policy Council’s School Nutrition Working Group. Questions? Contact advocacy@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org
- Mat-Su Borough School District Request for Information (open through September 1, 2026) NOTE: This survey is not affiliated with AFPC! If you have questions, please contact MSBSD. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) is seeking information regarding the availability, capacity, and interest from local growers, farms, cooperatives, and/or distributors to provide food products which are grown, caught, harvested, and/or processed in the state of Alaska for use in the MSBSD school nutrition program.
- NEW! Anchorage School District Producer Survey (July 2026) NOTE: This survey is not affiliated with AFPC! If you have questions, please contact ASD. Anchorage School District (ASD) Student Nutrition is seeking input from Alaska Grown producers, distributors, processors and food system partners as we work to increase the use of locally produced foods in school meals and menus. Your participation in this survey will help ASD Student Nutrition better understand how we can work together to increase the availability of Alaska Grown foods for students while supporting Alaska’s agricultural economy. Thank you for sharing your perspectives and experiences!
Statewide
- Alaska Student Nutrition Association
- Make it Local – Recipes for Alaska’s Children
- Let’s Eat More of Alaska’s Traditional Foods! (handout)
- 2013 Nutritional Alaskan Foods in Schools Program
- January 14, 2013 – Farm to School Program blooms in Alaska
Alaska Gateway School District
Anchorage School District
- April 3, 2025 – ASD says it wants to ‘transform’ school lunch experience with new program
- 2024 – Anchorage Student Nutrition Food System Transformation, Chef Ann Foundation
- February 8, 2023 – Longer elementary lunch and recess among updates to Anchorage’s student wellness policy
- October 2019 – ‘Going old school’: Anchorage school lunches are getting a makeover
Dillingham School District
- September 26, 2024 – A fresh approach to school lunch at Dillingham Elementary School
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
- February 2, 2015 – Alaska Grown Barley and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Case Study
Northwest Arctic Borough School District
Petersburg School District
- April 9, 2026 – Sushi rolls and rockfish tacos: How Petersburg put local food on the school lunch menu
- August 4, 2025 – Cafeteria Confessions Podcast with Carlee Johnson McIntosh, Director of Child Nutrition for Petersburg School District
- March 4, 2024 – Four School Districts Receive National Awards for Trailblazing, Innovative Improvements to School Meals
- June 3, 2024 – Moose on the menu: how Petersburg School District is brining farm-to-school to Alaska
- October 9, 2024 – A Spotlight on Alaska’s Farm & Sea to School Program / National Farm to School Month Series
- September 24, 2023 – Petersburg School District to cut back on sugar and salt; possibly add traditional foods to school meals
Sitka School District
Tools & Resources
We’re gathering tools, guides, and supports from across agencies and organizations to help you do the work—whether you’re serving meals, writing grants, growing food, or advocating for change. Do you know of resources that should be included?! Let us know!
State & Federal Agencies and Programs
- Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
- Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- National School Lunch Program
- School Breakfast Program
- Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
- Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Veg Program (USDA DoD Fresh)
- Summer Food Service Program
- Child and Adult Care Food Program
- Farm to School Program
- A fantastic suite of resources, including a regular newsletter – The Dirt, toolkits, and other farm to school resources.
Healthy School Meals for All
- Alaska
- 2025 – 2026:
- HB 12 was revised from universal school meals to addressing reduced-price meals only. Read our letter here.
- HB 12 / AFPC Policy Brief
- January 22 – Bill to provide free breakfast and lunch for all Alaska students filed in the Legislature
- February 28: Cost questions stall bill that would offer Alaska students free meals
- 2024:
- 2025 – 2026:
- Food Research and Action Center Resources – Healthy School Meals for All
- Community Eligibility Provision – the CEP is a federal provision that allows school districts that have a certain percentage of low-income families to enroll all students in free breakfast and lunch schools. According to the FRAC community eligibility database, 217 schools in Alaska have adopted CEP.
Procurement & Farm to School Resources
- A Guide to Serving Local Fish in School Cafeterias, Sitka Conservation Society
- Native Farm to School, First National Development Institute
- National Farm to School Network
- USDA Farm to School – Procuring Local Foods
- Nourish Colorado – Local Food Program Guidebook
School Nutrition Recipes
- DEED CNP Program Recipe Resource List (which also includes the below links!)
- Alaska School Salad Book
- Make it Local – Recipes for Alaska’s Children
- North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) Recipe Library (home + institutional)
Reports
- School Food Purchase Study-III: Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico Final Report (USDA FNS, March 2012)
- Feasibility of Farm-To-School in Alaska: A State-wide Investigation of Perspectives From School Food Service Professionals (MS Thesis, Johanna Herron, UAF 2013)
- Serving Fish in School Meals: Perceptions of School Nutrition Professionals in Alaska (The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management, Spring 2015)
Other School Food News from Alaska
- January 2025 – Food show highlights what’s new in school lunches across Alaska
- October 2024 – The Lake and Peninsula School District will cut school meal program come January
- January 2023 – For students at 8 Anchorage schools, chicken jerky and crackers are replacing hot lunches
- June 2023 – Alaska schools struggling to keep up with the cost of food
Join the Conversation!
Stay Tuned –
We’re working to build a connected network of people passionate about school food—across sectors, across regions, and across roles.
Whether you’re in a cafeteria, on a farm, in a classroom, or at a decision-making table, your voice matters.
Do you have a story, a question, or a big idea about school food in Alaska? We’d love to hear from you.
📧 Contact us at advocacy@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org