For the first time ever, the Festival is leaving the road system. The majority of Alaskan municipalities are not connected to the road system and are often overlooked for networking opportunities like this. We are excited to bring the Festival to one of these communities. The 2025 Alaska Food Festival and Conference will be our second hybrid event, with both in-person and virtual attendance options. Gather with us as we celebrate Alaska’s food system from the Kodiak Marketplace in downtown Kodiak.

Collaboration, Network Development, and Food System Solutions
This is the state’s largest convening of food experts, producers, advocates, educators, entrepreneurs, and more from around Alaska and beyond! Expect a diversity of speakers, workshops, and panels from all food systems sectors, who are working collaboratively for stronger, more resilient food systems. Come ready to learn, share your knowledge, and build your network.

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Schedule:

8:30 am - 9:45 am
4-A: Regional Food Business Centers Updates: Islands and Remote Areas RFBC and National Intertribal RFBC
Session 4
Room A
Robbi Mixon, Executive Director, Alaska Food Policy Council
Harmonee Williams, Director of IRA RFBC, Hawaii Good Food Alliance
Johanna Herron, Director National Intertribal Food Business Center, Intertribal Agriculture Council
Samantha Schaffstall Dopp, Branch Chief, Outreach and Technical Assistance, USDA AMS
Hybrid
Join us for an insightful Session on the Islands and Remote Areas Regional Food Business Center, where presenters will share how this initiative is taking form in Alaska and Hawai'i.

8:30 am - 9:00 am
4-B: Kodiak Harvest: Building an Island Cooperative
Session 4
Room B
Myra Scholze
Tyler Kornelis, Environmental and Climate Director, Kodiak Area Native Association
Stephanie Mason
Rob Stauffer, KHFC - Project Director, Kodiak Harvest Food Co-op
Hybrid
Kodiak Harvest was brainstormed at a community planning day in 2015 and underwent a very unique process from inception to brick-and-mortar grocery store.

8:30 am - 9:00 am
4-C: Starting a Homemade Food Business
Session 4
Room C
Sarah Lewis, Cooperative Extension Faculty, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Hybrid
The former Alaska Cottage Foods Exemptions were significantly revised in October 2024 and are now the Homemade Food Regulations.

8:30 am - 9:00 am
4-H: Avian Influenza and Other Program Updates from the Office of the State Veterinarian
Session 4
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Sarah Coburn, DVM, State Veterinarian, DEC
Robyn Hurley
Hybrid
This presentation will cover a variety of topics related to animal health, agriculture, and food safety, with a particular focus on the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outBreak and its impact on Alaska’s animals and food supply.

9:00 am - 9:45 am
4-B: Engaging in Kodiak's Food System Vulnerability Assessment
Session 4
Room B
Sean Kelly, Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow, Alaska Sea Grant
Andie Wall, Environmental Coordinator, Kodiak Area Native Association
Hybrid
All Alaska Food Festival and Conference attendees are invited to an interactive workshop Session to explore the social, cultural, environmental, and economic dimensions of the Kodiak Archipelago’s foodshed and contribute to discussions centered around food system vulnerability, adaptation.

9:00 am - 9:45 am
4-C: Food Preservation Safety for Local Food Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Session 4
Room C
Sarah Lewis, Cooperative Extension Faculty, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Hybrid
This class, taught by Extension Professor Sarah Lewis, is helpful for those working with organizations and Tribes involved with community gardens and farms, food security, food sovereignty, food and nutrition education, food entrepreneurship, or other food-focussed programming.

9:00 am - 9:45 am
4-H: Soil and Water Conservation Districts Supporting Sustainability in our Local Food System
Session 4
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Melissa Sikes, Natural Resource Education Specialist, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District
Monica Kopp, Homer Soil and Water Conservation District
Kyra Wagner, District Manager, Homer Soil and Water
Sarah Cronick, District Manager, Anchorage Soil and Water Conservation District
Sayako Schwing, Urban Agriculture Program Leader, Anchorage Soil and Water Conservation District
Hybrid
This workshop will bring together specialists in Agriculture and Natural Resource Education from Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). SWCDs are quasi-state entities that serve as intermediaries for federal and local landowners, government, and education.

9:45 am - 10:00 am
Break
10:00 am - 10:30 am
5-A: Nutrition Transformation in Schools: the Anchorage School District and the PLANTS grant
Session 5
Room A
Emily Becker, Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP)
Marci McGill, Senior Director, Student Nutrition, Anchorage School District
Hybrid
The Partnerships for Local Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) Grant, led by the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF), supports systemic, equity-driven changes in school food supply chains.

10:00 am - 10:30 am
5-B: Solutions for Food Security
Session 5
Room B
Red Bradley, Wizard of Wonder, Alaska Village Initiatives
Hybrid
Alaska Village Initiatives focuses on Tribal Village agriculture, which aims to increase the number of socially disadvantaged, beginning, and veteran farmers.

10:00 am - 11:30 am
5-C: Making Waves: The State of Mariculture in Alaska
Session 5
Room C
Evie Witten, Principal/owner/farmer, Regeneration North, Ebb Tide Ocean Farm
Melissa Good, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program University of Alaska Fairbanks
Jason Lessard, Executive Director, Alaska Mariculture Alliance
Lindsay Olsen, Director of Training and Support, GreenWave
Tom Thornton, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Lexa Meyer, Owner, Alaska Ocean Farms, LLC
Shingo Hamada, Research Associate , Ocean Nexus
Hybrid
Panel Discussion
This dynamic panel will include several presentations and Q&A discussion! Moderated by AFPC board member, Evie Witten.

10:00 am - 11:30 am
5-H: Local Catch Network: Resources for Seafood Development
Session 5
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Elizabeth Dubovsky, Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association
Joshua Stoll, Associate Professor, University of Maine / Local Catch Network
Luke Owens, LCN
Sarah Ecolano, Copper River Fish Market
Amanda Wlaysewski, Nakeen Homepack, DBA Kvichak Fish Co
Natalie Sattler
Sarah Schumann
Hybrid
Seafood is a critical part of Alaska’s food system and yet is often treated differently than “food” when it comes to federal funding and policies.

10:30 am - 11:30 am
5-A: Local Food Purchasing Assistance Panel
Session 5
Room A
Elliott Smith, CEO, Kitchen Sync Strategies
Kristi Short, Program Coordinator I, State of Alaska, Division of Agriculture
Cayley Eller, Tyonek Grown Programs Manager, Tyonek Tribal Conservation District
Robbie Townsend Vennel, Executive Director, Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute
Saleh Azizi, Hawaii Food Hub Hui
Kenneth Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center
Hybrid
Panel Discussion
Across Alaska and beyond, local food purchasing programs are strengthening local and regional food systems, supporting farmers and fishers, and increasing access to fresh, culturally relevant foods.

10:30 am - 11:00 am
5-B: Assessing and Measuring Food Security in the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Households: A Scoping Review
Session 5
Room B
Jennifer Galbreath, Graduate Student Nutrition and Food Systems/Owner Jennifer Rose Design Grant Writing, University of Hawaii Manoa/University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extesnion
Hybrid
The U.S.-Affiliated Pacific (USAP) represents Alaska, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, Yap), and Republic of the Marshall Islands. Alaska and Hawaiʻi are U.S. states.

11:00 am - 11:30 am
5-B: The Feast Table: Developing an Indigenous Research Methodology Process of Cultivating Relationality and Reciprocity Through Sharing Food
Session 5
Room B
Selah Kone, Doctoral student- Indigenous and Rural Health PhD, Montana State University
Hybrid
I am currently in the process of completing my Master's thesis at Montana State University (MSU) on the development of an Indigenous research methodology that cultivates relationships and reciprocity with community and the land by creating a respectful space for sharing food around the Feast Tabl...

11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Kodiak Homemade Food Fair
Downstairs in the Kodiak Marketplace
In-Person Only
The Kodiak Harvest Food Co-op and the Alaska Food Policy Council are co-hosting the Kodiak Homemade Food Fair during the second day of the conference.

11:30 am - 12:15 pm
Break: Grab Lunch and Reconvene for Keynote Address
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm
Welcome and Introductions
Plenary
Glenna Gannon, Assistant Research Professor, UAF
Hybrid
Welcome back to the plenary room, with a message from AFPC's Board Chair. Grab your lunch and get ready for our Keynote Address to follow.

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Keynote Address: Blue Wave Futures: Kelp Highways, Ocean Healing and Regenerative Economies
Plenary
Dune Lankard, President and Founder, Native Conservancy
Hybrid
Keynote
In his keynote address, Dune Lankard, Eyak Athabascan leader and Founder & President of Native Conservancy, will be sharing his perspective and stories on Indigenous Food Security and Food Sovereignty, as they are pathways to living healthy, staying strong and sane during these dark political and earth changing times.

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Break
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
6-A: Rural Alaskan Fresh Food Supply Chains and Constraints
Session 6
Room A
Mike Jones, Research Assistant Professor of Economics, Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
Hybrid
Delivering goods to Alaska—and distributing them throughout our on- and off-road communities—is a formidable challenge.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
6-B: Cultivating Conversations: An Interactive Farmers Roundtable
Session 6
Room B
Jesika Harper, VP-AgVision , AgWest Farm Credit
Bailey Storms, Relationship Manager, AgWest Farm Credit
Hybrid
Join us for a dynamic and collaborative Farmer Roundtable, where producers come together to share their experiences, challenges, and successes. This lively discussion will focus on the farmers. Bring questions to AgWest Farm Credit, a member-owned financing and insurance services cooperative.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
6-C: Island Agriculture: Growing Food on Kodiak Island
Session 6
Room C
Myra Scholze
Ian Zacher, Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District
Joseph Kewan, Alutiiq Grown
Kelli Foreman, Kodiak Goat Dairy
Hybrid
Showcase Kodiak's local growers and producers, who all overcome unique challenges to grow for our community and promote food security for our island. (Like bears busting through hoop houses. Really.)

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
6-H: USDA AMS Programs in Action
Session 6
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Samantha Schaffstall Dopp, Branch Chief, Outreach and Technical Assistance, USDA AMS
Hybrid
This Session will review different USDA AMS grant programs in a practical no-jargon fashion. The goal is to help attendees see how these programs could address their business needs and discuss creative approaches to common application challenges.

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
6-A: Food Value Chain Coordination Council, Data Dashboards, and Mapping
Session 6
Room A
Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC
Robbi Mixon, Executive Director, Alaska Food Policy Council
Hillary Palmer, GIS Program Manager, Dewberry
Elliott Smith, CEO, Kitchen Sync Strategies
Hybrid
The Alaska Food Policy Council is excited to have received funding to help create the framework for a statewide Food Value Chain Coordination Council.

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
6-H: Tools and Resources for Grant Writing
Session 6
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Samantha Schaffstall Dopp, Branch Chief, Outreach and Technical Assistance, USDA AMS
Hybrid
This Session will review different USDA AMS grant programs in a practical no-jargon fashion. The goal is to help attendees see how these programs could address their business needs and discuss creative approaches to common application challenges.

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Break
3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
7-A: Alaska Native Reindeer Husbandry: Challenges and Opportunities
Session 7
Room A
Nathan Baring, Reindeer Herders Association Director, Kawerak, Inc.
Jacqueline Hrabok, Joint Faculty Professor , Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Extension and High Latitude Range Management Program
Bonnie Scheele, Reindeer Herd Owner, Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch
Hybrid
Nathan Baring, Program Director of the Reindeer Herders Association (RHA) at Kawerak, works with 21 Alaska Native reindeer herders living across 19 villages in Northwest Alaska.

3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
7-B: An Introduction to Alaska Tribes Extension and Grants, Training Opportunities, and Other Resources for Bolstering Local Gardens, Greenhouses, and Community Food Systems
Session 7
Room B
Marisa McKasson, Assistant Professor Tribes Extension, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Heidi Rader, UAF CES
Hybrid
Heidi Rader and Marisa McKasson will present a quick introduction to the Alaska Tribes Extension Program. The Alaska Tribes Extension Program is a part of UAF Cooperative Extension. The goal of the Alaska Tribes Extension Program is to promote food sovereignty and secure Tribes in Alaska.

3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
7-C: The Importance of Food Hubs in Alaska and Beyond
Session 7
Room C
Elliott Smith, CEO, Kitchen Sync Strategies
Cayley Eller, Tyonek Grown Programs Manager, Tyonek Tribal Conservation District
Evelynn Trefon, Owner, E&A Produce
Saleh Azizi, Hawaii Food Hub Hui
Erika Merklin, Upper Lynn Canal Food System Strategist, Ecotrust/ Lynn Canal Food Web/ Chilkat Valley Food Hub
Kenneth Meter, President, Crossroads Resource Center
Hybrid
Panel Discussion
The Alaska Food Hub Working Group presents this food hub Breakout Session. This Panel Discussion will explore the challenges and successes of operating food hubs in Alaska, Hawai’i, and the Pacific Northwest.

3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
7-H: Yup’ik driven solutions to climate resilience of Atsalugpiaq (Rubus chamaemorus)
Session 7
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Claire Friedrichsen, USDA
Sire Kassama, Oak Ridge Insitute for Science and Education (ORISE) program
Lynn Church, Chief Executive Officer, Nalaquq, LLC
Jacki Cleveland, Director of Natural Resources, Native Village of Kwinhagak
Sean Glean, Nalaquq Llc
Hybrid
Variable yearly harvests of Atsalugpiaq are raising concerns and worry in throughout Alaska. Nalaquq Llc, a Quinhagak-based Yup’ik owned business, is taking action to create technological solutions to promote resilience of subsistence berry picking.

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
7-A: Meat Production for Protein Security: Intertribal Agriculture Council Panel
Session 7
Room A
Randy Mayo
Cary Fremin, Techincal Assistance Specialist, Intertribal Agriculture Council
Meagen Baldy, Business Development Specialist, Intertribal Agriculture Council American Indian Foods Program
Nathan Hadley Jr, service area liaison, Maniilaq Association
Jason Pyron, Assistant Guide/Packer, Grizzly Skins of Alaska
Hybrid
Panel Discussion
Access to protein is a key factor in food security. With the growing uncertainty of the availability of wild sources of protein, it is important to evaluate production models that can support our families' and community's nutritional needs.

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm
7-B: Permafrost Grown: Year 3 Project Update and Preliminary Results
Session 7
Room B
Glenna Gannon, Assistant Research Professor, UAF
Hybrid
Little is known about the interactions between permafrost and cultivation practices within permafrost-affected soils that can face challenges from degrading permafrost that can lead to field abandonment.

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm
7-H: Sharing as a Foundation of Food Security: A mix of modern Traditional Foodways involving Youth, elders and community collaborative through production and harvest
Session 7
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Jessica Newton, Greenhouse Coordinator, Kenaitze Indian Tribe Dena'ina Wellness Center
Tia Holley, Kenaitze Indian Tribe
Hybrid
A presentation on improvements and growth to increase yield and encourage community participation, from adding an ADA accessible garden and hydroponics unit.

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm
7-B: Growing fruit and berries in Alaska--in the backyard or for profit
Session 7
Room B
Heidi Rader, UAF CES
Hybrid
This Session will go through some of the basics of what you can grow in Alaska, varieties, and cultivation considerations. I'll talk about how to get started in your backyard or as a farm and some marketing considerations.

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm
7-H: Alaska Resilience Farms
Session 7
Harbor Room of the Kodiak Best Western
Steven Holley, Owner/Board member, Community Business Development
Analouise “Tutgarayaq” Hoseth, Alaska Pacific University
Sara Renard, Progam Manager, Alaska Seeds of Change
Allie Toloff, Healthy Foods Coordinator, Chugach Regional Resources Commission
Max Lyons, Sustainable Food Systems Coordinator, Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute
Hybrid
The Alaska Resilience Farms is a project and partnership between Alaska Conservation Foundation, Alaska Seeds of Change, Alaska Pacific University, Native Village of Eklutna, and (recently joined) Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute, Chugach Regional Resources Commission, and Central Council.

4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Break
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
8-A: An Alaskan Market Garden: Past, Present and Future
Session 8
Room A
Emily Garrity, Farmer, Twitter Creek Gardens
Rachel Lord, Advocacy and Policy Director, AFPC
Hybrid
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Homer-based market garden, Twitter Creek Gardens. What started on borrowed land, growing on only 1000 sq feet, has been diligently developed into a two-acre, high-yielding vegetable production.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
8-B: Utilizing Biological Fertilizers for Hydroponic Food Production in Alaska
Session 8
Room B
Max Lyons, Sustainable Food Systems Coordinator, Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute
Melissa Sikes, Natural Resource Education Specialist, Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District
Hybrid
As interest in sustainable agriculture grows, biological hydroponic fertilizers are emerging as a promising nutrient source to support soil-free food production.

5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
8-C: Selling Your Catch: Direct Marketing Seafood
Session 8
Room C
Myra Scholze
Hybrid
With unstable markets and oscillating seafood prices, many of Kodiak's fishers have adapted to direct marketing their seafood, bypassing large production plants. Learn about their fishing, marketing, and selling techniques directly from them.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
8-H: American Indian Foods Showcase (IAC)
Lara Hays, Business Development Specialist, Intertribal Agriculture Council
Meagen Baldy, Business Development Specialist, Intertribal Agriculture Council American Indian Foods Program
Hybrid
The American Indian Foods (AIF) program revitalizes food economies in Indian Country through tailored branding support and diversified market options for all trademarked products made and produced by American Indians.

5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
8-C: Farm-scale Winter Vegetable Storage and Sales
Session 8
Room C
Sam Knapp, Farmer and Author, Offbeet Farm
Hybrid
Storing crops for wintertime sales is a great way for farms to diversify, access new hungry markets, spread the workload of farming more evenly throughout the year, and improve food security in their communities.