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A reliable supply of food is never far from the minds of Alaskans, as our remote state relies on outside shipments.

But innovators in rural communities are taking the concern over food security head on.

We'll, pretty much have year round production of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers.

Those are the main ones.

We also want to do hydroponic watermelons.

How are growers raising veggies in the winter and is it economically viable?

We'll find out.

Right now on Alaska INSIGHT.

Good evening.

We may think about food security more now than before.

The pandemic disrupted supply lines everywhere.

But for Alaskans, the system vulnerability of how food gets to our remote state has always been a concern.

Tonight, we'll hear from Alaskans who are addressing this vulnerability through local innovations.

But before we get to that conversation, we'll start off with some of the top stories of the week from Alaska Public Media's collaborative statewide news Network.

With Congress unable to agree on a spending plan, federal agencies are preparing for a government shutdown that could begin Sunday, October 1st.

If it does, some Alaskans could miss paychecks.

There are about 15,000 civilian federal workers here.

They'd be affected differently depending on what jobs they do and how their agencies are funded.

Essential workers like air traffic controllers and FBI agents would work, but without paychecks until the impasse is resolved.

Other workers would be furloughed.

They'd get back pay when Congress passes a bill to restart the government.

Military service members must also remain on the job.

A shutdown only freezes agencies that depend on annual appropriations bills, which is about a third of federal spending.

U.S. mail service would be largely unaffected.

Social Security payments would still arrive.

The state says SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps and Head Start programs will be funded through at least October.

If Congress doesn't pass new spending bills, it would launch the 15th shutdown since 1980.

Most funding lapses lasted 1 to 3 days.

The most recent in 2018 and 19, went on for 34 days.

Investigators say a plane flown by U.S. Representative Mary Paul Thomas husband was loaded with more than 500 pounds of moose meat and a set of antlers before the crash near Saint Mary's earlier this month that killed him.

The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report Thursday on the September 12th crash that killed 57 year old Eugene 'Buzzi' Peltola Jr.

According to the report, Peltola was on the second of two flights that evening to transport moose meat to Holy Cross.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff.

Clint Johnson, the NTSB Alaska chief, stressed that investigators have not yet determined what caused the plane's crash.

Investigators are examining how the plane was loaded, he said, but are still determining the weight of everything on board.

A funeral, a funeral for Eugene 'Buzzi' Peltola was held in Bethel on September 18th with hundreds of Alaskans in attendance.

A Peruvian man has been arrested for sending more than 150 fake bomb threats to schools across the United States, including several in Alaska.

Peruvian authorities arrested 33 year old Eddie Manuel Nunez Santos in Lima, Peru, on Tuesday.

Nunez Santos is charged in the southern district of New York with sending threatening communications, as well as soliciting a 15 year old child for nude and sexual photographs after she and other children refused to comply with his requests.

He emailed bomb threats to school districts, synagogues, airports, hospitals and a shopping mall in retaliation.

According to the federal charges.

The threats were sent out between September 15th and the 21st to communities in Alaska, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Arizona.

Schools across Alaska had varying responses to the threats.

Some rural districts closed schools.

The Anchorage School District also received threats, but opted not to close.

The charges against Nunez Santos carry a possible sentence ranging from 30 years to life in prison.

You can find the full versions of these stories and more on our website.

Alaska Public dot org Or get breaking news alerts right to your phone by downloading the Alaska Public Media app.

Now on to our discussion for the evening.

Producing more food within our state.

A local food hub has sprouted on Kodiak Island.

The archipelago is now home to six community and tribally owned farms.

The idea is to connect the island through locally grown food and it could be a model of food security for other parts of rural Alaska.

KMXT's Kirsten Dobroth visited one of the farms and brings us this story.

It was a rainy summer in the native village of Port Lions.

But by late July, rows of vegetables were ready for harvest at a small farm nestled in the spruce trees.

That's a radish.

Perfect radish right there.

Joe Kewan runs the two acre farm in the northeast corner of Kodiak Island.

A small team of volunteers helps him grow everything from radishes and cabbage to leafy greens and herbs.

There's a coop where a flock of chickens lay eggs, too.

But Kewan has even bigger plans for growth.

We have four of these.

We've received one so far.

We have three more coming.

The wooden platforms will soon support hydroponic growing units, each one made from 40 foot long shipping containers.

The new additions will be powered by the island's wind turbines and they'll be game changers, allowing the farm to grow more produce throughout the year.

We'll pretty much have year round production of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers.

Those are the main ones.

We also want to do hydroponic watermelons.

Port Lyons is one of five villages within the Kodiak archipelago that now have their own farms.

Another is in the city of Kodiak.

Each one is community or tribally owned.

The Farm network is called Elliptic Grown.

Village leaders started seriously looking at food security about ten years ago.

There weren't any agencies or folks that really seemed to be taking the lead on food security in the region.

Besides being mayor, Dorinda Kewan, who was Joe's mom, is the Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute's project manager.

The organization tapped into federal grant funding for the farms.

95% of Alaska's food is imported from elsewhere.

That's before it gets shipped to the city of Kodiak.

All of the island's villages are off the road system.

So food needs to be flown by small plane or ferried over.

The weather is poor in the grocery sit in boxes for days waiting to come.

Sometimes what you get is spoiled or not as usable.

Frozen goods often thaw, and all of the food that's shipped in is expensive.

Many of the villages, including Port Lions, also don't have a store to pick up the basics.

History has also taught the village's nearly 170 residents the importance of being self-sufficient.

Port Lyons was established as a home for people displaced when the native village of Afognak was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in 1964.

More recently, supply chain issues caused by the pandemic made many people rethink how they got their food.

Few folks embraced the notion of the farm immediately.

Some were skeptic.

Popularity of the farm grew slowly over time.

But when COVID hit.

I've seen a drastic change in attitude, Kewan says.

While much of the state and country grappled with an egg shortage last year.

Port Lions residents had fresh eggs every morning.

But the farm is also part of a bigger goal to create a local food network called the Kicked Back Food Hub, an online marketplace where shoppers across the island can place weekly orders from Alutiiq grown farms.

Tik Tuk means Kodiak Island in Alutiiq The Port Lions Farm already received its first orders this summer.

The population of Port Lions has shrunk over the years.

It's a problem shared by many Alaskan villages.

But there's optimism that long term food security will give people a reason to stay.

Did you find some strawberries underneath all that vegetation?

Guy Bartleson has worked on the farm since the beginning.

He says coming here every day is like therapy and it's for a really good reason.

I'm trying to help feed our community.

These are my people, my family and I have kids, grandkids and soon great grandkids here and I want to make sure that they're taken care of.

Joe Kewan says that mission drives him to.

He was born and raised in Port Lions, and the farm has given him a place to plan his future.

That's always been my goal is to find something that I'm passionate about in my home town.

His goal is to double the size of the farm.

There's been talk of opening a store for village residents, too.

So right now I have basil and parsley.

It's going to take some time, but he's excited to watch it grow.

In Port Lions, I'm Kirsten Dobroth.

Joining me tonight to discuss how food production is changing in Alaska is Glenna Gannon.

Glenna is assistant professor of Sustainable Food Systems at UAF, and Tikaan Galbreath is the Technical Assistance Network director with the Intertribal Agriculture Council.

Welcome, both of you.

Thanks so much for being on with me this evening.

I want to start with a question for you both about what we just saw and what you think the potential for this kind of operation in other parts of the state could be, especially without access to lower cost hydropower.

Can this pencil out in the northern part of the state, this type of operation?

Well, I'll I'll jump in first, Lori.

You know, I was going to comment on the feasibility of food hubs and creating more localized markets or networks of producers throughout the state is going to differ depending on which region of the state.

And just as you alluded to.

So there are some initiatives down in Southeast, I can think of the traditional food security program that's being funded and supported by Clinton hired a central council.

They also have the Green House, which is a really good example of a sustainable greenhouses using heat pumps in order to be able to grow produce year round for their community.

So those are examples where more renewable energy can be incorporated and into growing either seasonally or year round.

The further north we get, of course, the greater those challenges for introducing or operating those types of networks off of renewables goes.

I mean, we certainly have the opportunity to use geothermal energy when we start looking at places like Manley and the Dart and Farm that's been operating using geothermal there.

So there's there's certainly options, but we'll have to be looking at the different options available, just depending on the region.

And of course, the further north we go, the less available certain renewables like solar are for that kind of production.

Anton, your thoughts here?

I it's of note, Glenna, mentioning heat pumps and the potential for how that might help in the future.

But I think looking at alternative forms of energy production is what is needed to accomplish the around food production and the colder climate now the growing season being so short and low profile, introducing its own challenges, you know, and the temperatures as well.

And so anywhere that you are able to offer the season extension or climate controlled growing environments, you know, introduces the opportunity for a year round food production.

But the barrier is often that energy cost.

So again, just speaking heat pumps being one potential solution for geothermal.

But I think each region will have to evaluate the resources available to their community based on the landscape to be effective.

The way that Kodiak has been in creating a robust and supportive food system to the community.

Mm hmm.

Glenna, as we, as we have noted, greatly depend on shipments from outside.

How much as might be a little debatable, but a lot.

The majority of our supplies come from outside of the state.

There are more operations producing more food now in state.

Tell us about this growth and how it's how it's changing things.

Yeah.

So Alaska's food production scene has seen a tremendous growth in the last decade or so.

The most recent U.S. agricultural census indicated that the number of new farms have grown about 30% since 2000.

I think that was between 2010 and 17 or so.

We've also seen a doubling in the amount of food sold direct to consumer, so producers selling directly to consumers or things like CSA for farmers markets through food hubs.

So that is up to over four and a half, probably arguably over $5 million in annual sales direct to consumer this year.

And Alaska is currently the number one in the nation for new beginning farmers.

So there's a lot of growth here in Alaska.

Our our growth does look different than it does in the lower 48.

So notably, we have the predominant number of farms in Alaska are ten acres or under and over the 990, maybe around a thousand farms that there are in Alaska really only about 150 of those are breaking $50,000 a year cap in terms of annual income from produce sales.

So our our farm seen as small but mighty and certainly growing.

And the disconnect between state and federal policy when it comes to subsistence.

Right.

Federal policy says rural preference in times of shortage.

State constitution says equal access for all Alaskans.

AFN just joined a lawsuit over this siding with the feds.

How do you want to see and what do you want to see happen to address this?

For rural residents who don't have local, affordable places to buy food, that access sort of just strong cultural use, food items that are harvested and protected under subsistence rights afforded under kind of native Anoka are critically important to many of our rural communities, making up, in many cases, up to 80% of their nutritional needs.

And so the statistic that was quoted earlier in the conversation of 95% of food, Alaska is imported as often is connected to the purchased food and doesn't take into account the food that is being provided by the land.

And we see this conflict in action in terms of the subsistence fisheries in relationship to the commercial fisheries in the way that the state is prioritizing commercial over subsistence.

Commonly, in the policy enactment with with federal policy prioritizing and guaranteeing the subsistence, it is a statement to that.

It is what it allows our tribal citizens to continue to be in place and to provide for their family in a way that they need for food reserves.

So it is critically important to continue to allow for that access and to consider the management practices across the state and to to continue to have the availability of the wild species and opportunities that are relied upon.

And Glenna, you called subsistence food the keystones to Alaska's food system.

What did you mean by that?

Yeah, So wild foods that are harvested otherwise get, you know, called subsistence foods here in Alaska are really central to Alaska native lifeways.

So that's cultural, spiritual.

And then that key part of the nutritional needs of of rural Alaska and Alaska native diets.

And so what I mean I keystone is when we think about, you know, if we want to use statistics to talk about hunger or food security in Alaska, you know, in rural spaces versus urban spaces, we have real disparity between our food insecure rates in Alaska.

So, for example, somewhere in urban Alaska, we might see food insecurity rates of 8.4 to 10% insecure and food insecure population versus in rural Alaska.

We see that span anywhere from 10.5 up to like 26% almost in some areas in the Waikato Delta.

And so when we think about the importance of wild foods and as John mentioned, that that you know, that wild foods can account for up to 80% of the, you know, nutrient need needs of rural Alaskans, that the increase in food security that we would see if for example access to wild foods was reduced or depleted would really skyrocket.

And I think that we could expect to see those food insecurity rates go way up.

And that's not taking into consideration the important cultural, spiritual, you know, social values that are woven into the fabric of traditional foods.

Well, tea can pick it up there.

Your thoughts about that, that connection that goes beyond food, just as physical sustenance.

And then you've been working on an indigenous food producer program.

So talk a little about that first.

Yeah, you know, food is central to culture at the foundation of identity.

It informs who we are at all levels and whether tribal or non tribal.

And it's very central to our tribal communities.

And the culture is obviously across the state.

So it's there continue to have access to our traditional foods, is to continue to have access to our culture and to practice our culture.

And so it's critical beyond just meeting the nutritional needs to see the continuation, the health and wellness of Alaska Native people across the state.

The Intertribal Agriculture Council is a nationwide organization and we work directly with tribes and tribal producers to support their goals around food security and food production, where food is an opportunity to establish to provide that continuation of culture, but also to establish regional economies, regenerative economies.

Now, where we see the wealth created in the community, you know, grown from the ground and retained in the communities because the community members are purchasing, consuming and keeping the money in the community.

And there there's reliance on imported foods.

Now that those profits are going to the manufacturers, the corporations who are creating those products, you know, rather than seeing the wealth and the benefit stay in the community.

Alaska being so geographically isolated is in a position to establish a robust and resilient food system.

But we really need to see, you know, the more people connected to the work and invested in work.

The Food Hub is an exciting example where we see alleviation from either the harvesters or going out to the land or the growers and the producers.

Now, they wouldn't have to then be marketers and have to also do the sales and how they can work with the food hubs to have a guaranteed buyer and not worry about the additional aspects.

So many of our farms across the state are small scale and reliant on the CSA model, you know, and so we don't see a specialization of crops and as much and I think if we were to move in that direction, you know, we need to see more of that infrastructure and support from across the industry, more and more people involved in the work.

Where do you see as climate change affects us so much faster than other parts of the nation in the world?

Where do you see opportunities and challenges to both existing crops?

Glenn I know you do a lot of research on new crops.

Where are there challenges to what is currently being grown and what are the potential needs for new types of crops in Alaska going forward?

Yeah, that's a that's a good question and a more complicated answer than than might be suspected.

So certainly with our climate warming and we are warming twice as fast as other parts of the they are the global average here in Alaska.

So we do see quite dramatic references in our growing season already, and that is allowing us to grow crops that were formerly marginal for Alaska.

So, for example, you know, through some of our research in the variety trial program here at the Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, we have successfully been able to grow sweet corn out in the field.

We've been trialing peppers and field grown tomatoes and things like that.

And while we're not necessarily growing those successfully in a way that I would recommend that anyone goes out and start trying to become a, you know, field or a yeah, like a monarch crop corn grower.

What we are doing is evaluating the difference in how what we're formerly able to grow has changed to our current availability of growing degree days or length of season.

However you want to account for that.

The second part, the second thing I want to add to that question that you asked is that are growing season so just that the pure you know, ambient air temperatures, the length of our frost free growing season is not the only thing we need to consider in Alaska with regard to climate change.

So there's more crops that we may be able to grow, but changes to our environment and also have inverse or negative impacts on some of our wild food species.

So things like salmon are heavily impacted by increasing water temperatures.

And so we're not seeing as healthy of salmon populations and that can be directly linked to water quality and water temperature.

We also see that other species are suffering as their environment changes.

So moose, for example, are increasing in parts of Alaska like the like Delta and Northwest Alaska, where they haven't been before, because we're seeing what's called a greening of the tundra where we're having more shrubs and things grow.

There that actually create a less ideal environment for caribou range and maybe a more favorable habitat for moose.

But what that does is it really changes and shifts the traditional harvesting practices that were formerly dependent upon there and again, deeply tied to culture.

Something else I want to just briefly touch on.

Briefly, please.

Yes.

Oh, okay.

Well, I was just going to say, you know, 85% of Alaska's landmass is underlain by permafrost.

And so with the increase in temperatures, we do see a destabilization of our permafrost resources here in Alaska.

Right.

And that affects, you know, near-surface permafrost thawing can affect our infrastructure, our roadways and certainly our ability to grow food.

So that's something else out there in your mind.

Thank you so much, both of you.

The time went by way too fast.

Thanks for your time.

The disruption of the pandemic focused even more attention on a perennial concern for Alaska.

Our distance from major food suppliers, the future economic health of our state and having a more robust local supply of food depends on more Alaskans supporting sustainable, affordable agriculture in their communities.

And as you heard tonight, there are hard working people dedicated to this effort.

Cooperative gardening, hydroponics, container and hoop growing systems and acres under till are all needed for our state's future food security.

That's it for this edition of Alaska INSIGHT.

Visit our website, Alaska public dot org for breaking news and reports from our partner stations across the state.

While you're there, sign up for our free daily Digest so you won't miss any of Alaska's top stories of the day.

We'll be back next Friday.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

I'm Laurie Townsend.

Good night.