Thanks to Charles Bingham and the Alaska Food Policy Council for the following information about the 2020 virtual Alaska Food Festival and Conference.
The agenda has been posted and registration is open for the 2020 Alaska Food Festival and Conference. The conference is going virtual on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a preconference movie on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The two main themes are food entrepreneurship and rural and Indigenous food systems.
In addition to the Alaska Food Policy Council, this event is co-sponsored by the Alaska Village Initiatives AgAlaska Program, FRESH (the Food Research, Enterprise, and Sustainability Hub of the North) and Alaska Pacific University. The UAF Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension is also a sponsor and Cooperative Extension, an organizing partner.
The goals of the conference and festival are to:
- Increase awareness of Alaska food issues among the general population
- Provide training, resources, and networking opportunities to increase involvement in local food issues by community members and decision makers and
- Increase connections and build community between the public, Alaska food businesses, NGOs, governmental entities, tribal entities and others to support local economic development and innovative solutions
The agenda is available on the conference website and includes presentations on food systems in Alaska, food security/insecurity, traditional foods, farmers markets, agriculture in Alaska, fisheries, food policy, food waste reduction and more. Other plans include an online auction at www.32auctions.com/AFPC2020conference and a virtual marketplace featuring food-related items from around the state.
This year’s confirmed keynote speakers and featured guests include:
- Valerie Segrest, Native American Agriculture Fund, regional director, Native food and knowledge systems
- Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank, co-founder and president
- Sommer Sibilly-Brown, Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, founder and executive director
- Elise Krohn, Wild Foods and Medicines, herbalist, Native foods specialist, educator, and author
- Martha Pearson, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), health promotion director, and Kate Fossman, SEARHC, registered dietitian nutritionist
- Bren Smith, Greenwave and Thimble Island Ocean Farm, executive director
- Anne Palmer, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, program director, Food Communities and Public Health
Before the conference officially opens, the movie “Gather” will be shown from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, using Zoom. “Gather “ is a film about the growing movement of Native Americans reclaiming their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. There will be a short presentation by director Sanjay Rawal and an Indigenous-led panel before the movie. This event is co-hosted by Native Movement and the Alaska Food Policy Council. The movie is free, but registration is required at this link,
Registration costs $40-$150, depending on the package, and you can register at this link, You also can purchase an Alaska Food Policy Council membership at that link. A limited number of registration fee scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and you can apply here. The first 300 people to register for the conference will receive a swag bag.
More details about the conference are available at this link, For more information about the conference, contact Robbi Mixon at (907) 235-4068, Ext. 23, or director@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org.
