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Youth ag focused Lebanon Area Fair to offer drive-through, pickup food options - LebTown

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Youth ag focused Lebanon Area Fair to offer drive-through, pickup food options - LebTown

Youth ag focused Lebanon Area Fair to offer drive-through, pickup food options - LebTown

Posted: 08 Jul 2020 03:02 AM PDT

6 min read259 views and 35 sharesPosted July 8, 2020

The 2020 Lebanon Area Fair (LAF) will not look like the fair Lebanon Countians are used to, but it will still occur in a way true to its essential purpose.

Read More: Lebanon Area Fair will be stripped down to focus on youth agriculture events

While many aspects of the fair, including track events, carnival rides, and concerts, will be on hiatus this year, the board will maintain a number of core fair traditions. The fair, which will be from July 25 to August 1, will consist of youth animal shows and indoor exhibits and drive-through food pick-up from 4-H and FFA fundraising barbecues and certain fair vendors.

All of these activities will be modified to accommodate social distancing and other CDC guidelines.

The fair board first announced that they were exploring their options for what they could do at the 2020 fair on May 20. They delayed making a final decision to ensure they were working with the latest information. The fair board confirmed again to the public on July 1 that they will be moving forward with their plans to have an altered 2020 fair.

"We've held off on committing to things as late as possible to wait for the latest guidance, not just in what we were allowed to do within the regulations, but what was safe to do," said LAF spokesperson and board member Emily Summey. "That's because the fair is staffed by volunteers of all ages and for many of them, it just isn't a good idea to be out and … interfacing with other people. 

"We just wanted to wait and see what the latest situation is going to be with the pandemic and with the regulations on how a business can operate and then adapt as best we could within those restrictions."

Youth exhibits

At this year's fair, there will not be any open animal or indoor exhibits. Instead, only youth will be able to participate in these exhibits, helping to preserve and promote youth agriculture in Lebanon County.

"This year has been a really difficult year for kids of all ages and we are committed to helping [them], especially our 4-H kids and FFA members, complete their projects," said Summey. "For some of them, the fair is the terminal event of their 4-H project; the fair's where it all ends."

Read More: Lebanon County 4-H Club looking for new members and mentors in 2020

"They get evaluated on not only their animals stacked up against the other kids' animals but also themselves in things like showmanship and how much time they put into their project."

As in previous years, youth exhibitors will be able to enter in a variety of categories from archery, pet care and other 4-H projects to arts and crafts entries, along with all species that were previously shown at the fair.

"That's our core purpose as a fair board and we felt that it was possible to do these things safely to give our kids a little bit of sense of normalcy this summer and keep the fair alive as much as we can," said Summey.

To accommodate social distancing, exhibits and shows will be closed to the general public to keep the number of people at the fair below the limits set by the state.

The fair board plans on livestreaming shows on Facebook so that members of the public who want to watch their youth family and friends show their animals can still do so.

"For us, it's important [to livestream the shows]," said Summey. "Your grandparents who might normally come watch the show, they're not going to be there this year, so we are going to broadcast that so that the family can still watch in real-time and not just hear about the show afterward."

Everyone on the grounds will be required to wear masks where social distancing is not possible and sign a liability waiver. There will be even more hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations throughout the barns than usual to encourage frequent hygiene as well. 

Animals will be arriving in a staggered manner, with different species arriving either the night before or day of their show. Exhibitors will then take their animals home right after they have shown them. 

By having the animals' arrivals and departures staggered in this manner, only people involved in showing one particular species will be on the fairgrounds at one time, which will reduce the risk of exposure and allow the fair to comply with the state's 250-person limit.

Read More: Animals aplenty at the Lebanon Area Fair

Thanks to the support of LAF sponsors, entry fees will be waived and full premiums will still be awarded to show winners. Exhibitors can enter online until July 10 and are encouraged to visit the LAF website to view the exhibiting schedule and the show catalog.

Aside from these changes, "the shows themselves, the format of them, should be pretty much business as usual," said Siegel.

Drive-through barbecues

The ham and chicken barbecues held at the fair each year are a key fundraiser for 4-H and FFA members and allow them to hold activities on the fairgrounds throughout the year. 

"[The barbecues are] very important in that they support 4-H and FFA activities being held on the fairgrounds year-round," said Siegel. "All of the money that is raised there supports the facilities and makes it so that no local FFA chapters or 4-H clubs pay rent to use the facilities.

"It's an important fundraiser and a very worthy fundraiser."

The ham barbecue will take place Sunday, July 26 between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the chicken barbecue will be held Thursday, July 30 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., both in the Lebanon Expo Center parking lot.

In addition to either ham or chicken, each meal includes a baked potato, roll, applesauce, cookie and bottled water.

For the past two years, LAF has had a drive-through pickup option for the barbecues, in addition to indoor seating. However, this year the barbecues will take place in an entirely drive-through format.

All barbecue tickets, which cost $10 each will need to be pre-ordered, either from a 4-H or FFA member who is selling them or online, before the deadline of Saturday, July 11. Once people have ordered their tickets, they need to print out their receipt and bring it with them when they pick up their food at the fairgrounds.

The fair board will implement accommodations for the anticipated increase in traffic and have people there to direct cars so that the barbecue pick-up will be efficient and safe for customers.

"If there is a line that forms at a peak time, we will be able to stage cars and get people off the road and back on the road as soon as possible," said Siegel.

Volunteers handing out the barbecue will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and wash and sanitize their hands frequently to ensure the safety of both themselves and customers. The pick-up will also be taking place outside because that is where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is the lowest.

Fair food pickup

Each evening during fair week, there will be several food trucks on the fairgrounds that people can buy food from. 

The logistics have not been finalized, but the fair board has a general idea of what it will look like. Their current plan is to have customers park their cars, get out and order food from the stand(s) they want food from and take it to-go. 

There will likely be around six to eight food trucks there at a time, and they will vary depending on the vendors' availability.

"Like many other businesses, they are struggling, so if there's an event in another state they could go to, that would be more profitable for them probably than coming to Lebanon, so that would probably depend on every individual vendor," said Summey.

The Penn Valley Shows truck, LAF's traditional carnival food vendor, will be there the whole week to serve fair favorites such as funnel cakes, caramel apples and fresh lemonade. Lebanon County Dairy Promotion Milkshakes, Mr. Sticky's Sticky Buns, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Robin's Ice, Dynamic
Wings, and Firebox Street Grill are scheduled to be there as well.

"Based on the guidelines, we can't really have a full event, but we can still give people the food that they crave," said Siegel.

The fair board is still working on the schedule of what food vendors will be selling food each night. The completed schedule will be posted on the LAF website and Facebook page closer to the start of the fair.

Looking forward

The LAF is a non-profit organization, and the money they raise every year goes towards youth activities and educating the public about agriculture, along with supporting the Lebanon Expo Center, where the fair has been held for the last 50 years. While they are able to continue some of the usual fair activities this year, not having a full fair will definitely hurt the organization financially.

"This year, we're not going to be making any money," said Summey. "We're going to do what we can and we've been supported by many generous sponsors who are helping to underwrite our premiums for the kids who are showing during their indoor exhibits. 

"We're trying to be really careful with the money that we spend so that we have the funds that we need to restart next year with hopefully a full fair."

In addition to buying barbecue tickets and getting fair food, people in the community can support the LAF by donating online. 

Overall, by having these few activities in a socially distant manner, the tradition of the LAF can continue while still keeping people safe.

"Maybe it's the stubborn Dutchman in us all, but we're going to go to great lengths to still comply with all guidelines and regulations … but at the same time trying to do as much as we possibly can and keep people safe," said Siegel. "It's sort of a refusal to quit."

Do you know a young person planning to compete in the 2020 Lebanon Area Fair? Give us advice on who to feature in our next profile using the contact form below or by emailing editor@lebtown.com.

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New York City's Community Refrigerators Offer Free Food for Those in Need - The New York Times

Posted: 08 Jul 2020 01:15 PM PDT

A lonely refrigerator sits on a Bronx sidewalk at 242nd Street and Broadway. It's not trash.

Painted in bright yellows, purples, oranges and blues, the fridge has "Free Food" written in bubble letters across its freezer, with the same in Spanish, "Comida Gratis," on its side.

Selma Raven makes good on that promise. She doesn't ask prodding questions of those who visit the fridge. She sometimes chats as she disinfects the unit, which is plugged into a socket inside of a restaurant, and stocks it with fresh produce and ready-made meals.

"We don't know everyone's story," Ms. Raven said. "We're really just trusting them."

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Community-led, free-food refrigerators, sometimes nicknamed "friendly fridges," have been popping up on city sidewalks since February.

When the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders halted New York City's economy, many residents — some suddenly out of work, and others sick with the illness — struggled to fill their own refrigerators. The Bronx, where Ms. Raven lives, suffered the city's highest rates of virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

At community refrigerators, anyone is welcome to take whatever they want and leave behind food they don't need, like extra produce. Many volunteers who clean and stock the refrigerators daily ask local restaurants and stores to donate unused or unsold food items instead of throwing them away.

The goals are simple: Reduce food waste and feed the community.

A network of New Yorkers collaborating with In Our Hearts, an activist group, have set up and maintained at least 14 fridges, which are plugged into local bodegas, restaurants or homes with permission.

Updated

Ms. Raven decided to set up the friendly fridge in the Bronx's Fieldston neighborhood on May 18, which is usually a somber day for her. Years ago, it was the day her son Michael, who was passionate about farming and feeding the hungry, died by suicide at 21.

Her partner, Sara Allen, spotted a community fridge on Instagram and said it was "something Michael would've loved."

Mothers, home attendants, nursing assistants and the unemployed stop by the fridge to pick up food, Ms. Raven said. At first, some residents were skeptical; even cabdrivers told her it wouldn't work. Now, they're allies.

"No one should go hungry," Ms. Raven said, quoting her son.

The volunteers who tend to many of the free-food refrigerators in New York communicate with one another on Signal, the encrypted messaging app, to coordinate the distribution of food from organizations like Universe City, an aquaponic farm and work space in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Universe City keeps a free fridge outside its building filled with cucumbers, celery and apples, said its executive director, Franklyn Mena, 31.

Without access to healthy food options, Mr. Mena said, people of color in lower-income communities like Brownsville develop a greater risk for illnesses, including diabetes.

"The more we have control over how we produce the food, how we process the food, and how we distribute the food as a community, then we have a higher and greater chance for finding wellness solutions for our people," Mr. Mena said.

Thadeaus Umpster, an organizer with In Our Hearts, said that people have been giving away refrigerators through Instagram.

In February, Mr. Umpster set up the group's first refrigerator in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He had snagged it from Craigslist for free, planning to put it in his building's laundry room to store free food for weekend events. But it didn't fit through the front door.

So he left it outside and used an extension cord to connect the fridge to the building's power. He then filled it with produce. It was half-empty by the end of the day.

"The need is greater than I imagined," Mr. Umpster said.

MelPaola Murillo, 32, said the refrigerator has helped relieve the stress of feeding herself and her 15-month-old son, Jonah Santiago. Ms. Murillo is a Honduran immigrant seeking asylum in the United States.

She is unable to work because she is waiting for a work permit, she said, and typically gets food through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC. But that is "not enough."

Ms. Murillo is comfortable using the friendly fridge outside of Mr. Umpster's home: It is within walking distance from her apartment, she said, and she can check social media to see what items are there. Mr. Umpster sometimes texts her if baby food is available.

"Nobody's coming outside to ask you questions about what you want, if you came yesterday," Ms. Murillo said. "There's no restrictions for if you go there, so you can get whatever you need."

As the pandemic worsened in March and April, other people asked to get involved. It also seemed that the more refrigerators New Yorkers saw on social media like Instagram, the more new ones appeared.

In recent weeks, Mr. Umpster has been distributing food to other fridges and answering calls from people across the world who want to start similar projects.

"We are trying to have a different type of relationship with people, a relationship between equals and not a hand out from a higher authority or privileged person," Mr. Umpster said.

Similar public refrigerators exist around the world. Freedge.org, a database and network of free food refrigerators, lists dozens of "freedges," including one at New York University.

Playground Coffee Shop began a separate project of three Brooklyn refrigerators in early June.

Chez Jean, 30, of the Bronx, recently set up a refrigerator in the borough's Fordham Manor neighborhood. When Jean, a founder of Sovereign Earth Cares who uses "they" and "them" pronouns, asked about 20 local stores and supermarkets to plug in a refrigerator, all but one bodega, at the corner of West Kingsbridge and Jerome Avenue, said no. So that's where it went.

Jean's goal is to get a refrigerator in "every possible space in the Bronx."

"There's a huge need everywhere, you know?" Jean said. "I just believe people shouldn't have to pay for food."

Some residents were surprised by the Fordham Manor friendly fridge, and at first many assumed there was a catch. Last month, when Jean first starting stocking the refrigerator, a group of young men asked what was happening. People don't usually help this neighborhood, the men said.

"Why are you doing this?" Jean recalled the men asking.

Jean, who knows what it's like to be food insecure, responded, "Because I care."

Stephanie Keith contributed reporting.

These Groups Are Bringing Black-Led Farming and Food Justice to Portland - Portland Monthly

Posted: 08 Jul 2020 10:00 AM PDT

The pain of the past sounds fresh when Philly-born navy veteran Malcolm Hoover recalls the rage that came over him as he picked cotton under the sweltering Mississippi sun during a field trip to a plantation in the summer of 1987. 

It's a testament to the transformative power of food as medicine and farming as spiritual practice that, 30 years later, Hoover is now a cofounder of Southeast Portland's Black Futures Farm, a six-month-old, veteran-operated community collaboration established on Brentwood-Darlington's Learning Gardens Laboratory. 

"Black people have a lot of trauma associated with agricultural work because of slavery," explains Hoover. "When I'm [at Black Futures Farm] and I look out across the field at our food ... when I put my hands in the soil, it affects me positively. It grounds me and it roots me.... Working on the soil is working on your soul."

At BFF, growing is an act of resistance: Alongside his wife and a group of dedicated staff and volunteers of all backgrounds, Hoover says he is reclaiming foods that have for years been overpriced in premium grocery stores and casually "discovered" and appropriated by white chefs in Portland's predominantly white restaurant scene. To that end, collard greens, kale, black-eyed peas, turnips, caillou, mixed greens, and more—food that reflects the traditions and roots of Black America—are currently being cultivated for the farm's new community-supported-agriculture program. Currently, the program serves about 40 families. 

From heritage seeds and rice carried clandestinely across the Atlantic to the "New World" within the protective hairstyles of the first slaves to the groundbreaking 1960s activism of civil rights and farm collective champion Fannie Lou Hammer, Hoover and other present-day Black farmers and food equity activists in Portland are a part of a generations-long fight for food justice. They've found purpose in working toward self-sufficiency through food, as well as in teaching members of their communities to do the same. In doing so they've become a part of the larger movement for food sovereignty, defined in a 2007 declaration as the right of people and communities to "healthy, culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems."

Food sovereignty is one solution to the challenge of "food apartheid," or the lack of availability of nutritious food in communities of color, usually by design. In the face of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 also on communities of color, and the strain on "big-ag" and social and environmentally questionable industrial food systems, the food sovereignty movement has gained even more attention. 

For those who can't or prefer not to farm, food sovereignty is still attainable. That's where organizations like Equitable Giving Circle come in: In addition to working on housing solutions, EGC partners with 15 BIPOC-owned and -operated farms, including BFF, plus a number of BIPOC-owned businesses, and pays them directly to provide fresh produce, protein, or pantry items to food vulnerable families of color, with priority given to single Black mothers. 

"I've been fundraising for 15 years, but I never worked directly with my community—the Black community—until now," says EGC founding director AJ McCreary. "We started planning [for EGC] back in December or January and we were going to launch in the fall, but then COVID happened and then the uprisings, and people started giving us money." 

What began as a pitch to provide 50 CSAs to 50 families grew into serving 100 families, then 300 families. Now EGC serves 401 families, and is on track to reach its new goal of 450 families by mid-August and to fundraise enough to continue to expand all of its initiatives and programming into 2021. 

In addition to partnerships with EGC and other community-based organizations, the immediate plan for BFF is to continue to provide opportunities for BIPOC to learn to farm, and to continue preparing the land to host expanded food offerings such as heritage crops from the American South and West Africa.

While BFF can't fulfill every community need and its growth is slow (but steady), says Hoover, BFF will always be a rare, dedicated, pan-African space for Black people. Whether it's to come and hang out, to work, to dance, to eat, to play, or to just be—whatever the community needs to feel whole and safe, BFF is there to provide. "What I've learned is it doesn't matter what white people do, it matters what Black people do," says Hoover. "As we get better at taking care of one another, our lives get better. And as our lives get better, we get better at taking care of ourselves and at taking care of each other."

Fighting Food Insecurity Amid COVID-19, Groups Advocate For 15% Food Stamp Boost - Forbes

Posted: 08 Jul 2020 03:30 AM PDT

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic disruption across the country, leading to layoffs comparable not only to those of the Great Recession a decade ago but among the highest rates since World War II. The economic challenges facing American families have led to increased difficulty in accessing affordable and healthful food. Food banks have called the level of need "unprecedented," with long lines queuing for food aid. Now, approximately 2,500 organizations are calling for a boost of 15 percent to the benefit levels provided by the nation's food stamp program.

Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As of June 2020, more than 20 percent of American households are experiencing food insecurity, according to Dr. Lauren Bauer, a Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. Put differently, in one out of every five households in the United States, the food purchased did not last, and the household did not have enough money to get more.

The economic disruption associated with COVID-19 has hit households with children particularly hard. According to Dr. Bauer, "young children are experiencing food insecurity to an extent unprecedented in modern times."

The pandemic has exacerbated racial inequities in food insecurity. Black and Hispanic households are now about twice as likely as white households to be struggling with food, and nearly four in every ten Black households with children are experiencing food insecurity.

Food Aid Efforts So Far

The federal government has undertaken several efforts to address food insecurity amid the pandemic's economic disruption. Three of the most significant efforts to date include the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program, food stamp emergency allotments, and taking food stamp benefits online.

School closures are occurring across the country, and school plans for the fall remain in flux. School closures strain already-tight family food budgets, as these dollars now need to provide for additional meals that school-age children would receive at school.  P-EBT provides electronic benefits transfer (EBT) payments to eligible children who attend a school that has been closed for five or more consecutive days. The value of P-EBT is approximately $114 per month per child. Unfortunately, P-EBT has been slow to roll out, and further changes are needed to improve its ability to serve low-income families with children.

Congress provided for emergency allotments for the nation's food stamp program (officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or "SNAP") as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed in March 2020. Pursuant to this statute, the USDA issued guidance that households on food stamps would receive the maximum benefit for their household size. While this led to an increase in food dollars for many families, it unfortunately did not grant additional money to the most desperate, who were already receiving the maximum benefit level. All told, this meant that about 40 percent of SNAP households—the households with minimal or no income—saw no increase to their monthly benefit levels despite these emergency allotments. This situation has led to a federal lawsuit in California.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed retail sale patterns generally, with many consumers increasingly turning to online shopping methods. Traditionally, SNAP benefits required in-person transactions. Online purchasing using SNAP has been on USDA's radar since the 2014 Farm Bill, in which Congress mandated a pilot test. Now, 40 states are participating in a SNAP online purchasing pilot. The use of SNAP for online purchasing during this emergency period may determine how USDA regulates electronic transactions in the future.

In the Courts

The USDA has proposed a number of rules that would limit the ability of households, especially those without children, to access food stamp benefits. One such change would have seen approximately 700,000 individuals losing access to SNAP benefits as of April 1, 2020 due to shifts in how waivers applied to adult SNAP beneficiaries without dependents.

In mid-March 2020, a federal judge found that the planned change to the waiver rule was "likely unlawful," and noted that government programs like food stamps were especially important as a "global pandemic poses widespread health risks."

The federal government has lodged an appeal of the court's decision, which is now pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

What's Next

A coalition of nearly 2,500 organizations are calling for a 15 percent increase in the maximum monthly SNAP benefit. This would mean all SNAP recipients, including those already receiving the maximum benefit, would see an increase in assistance levels.

Tens of millions of American households use food stamp benefits every month. USDA research has found that SNAP is counter-cyclical, and households spend SNAP dollars shortly after they are received. That is, SNAP is an immediate stimulus to local retailers to purchase much-needed food for individuals and households. USDA researchers found that every dollar funding the program led to a GDP increase of 1.5, for a 150 percent return on investment. More than just this immediate spending benefit, USDA research further found that $1 billion in further SNAP benefits would support 13,560 jobs.

At a time when many Americans find themselves struggling to put food on the table, the prospect of creating new jobs for the recently unemployed provides much food for thought. According to a recent statement by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC): "Hungry people can't wait."

Food security concerns fuel Sitka's adapted farmers market this summer - KCAW

Posted: 08 Jul 2020 09:44 AM PDT

Sitka Local Foods Network lead gardener Laura Schmidt waters vegetables inside a new high tunnel at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm. "Every year we get a little more organized, put more beds in, build more high tunnels," she said. (Erin McKinstry/KCAW)

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed farmers markets across Alaska to get creative this summer. Some are requiring masks, and others, like the Sitka Farmers Market, are going virtual. It's food security concerns that are pushing many markets to operate this summer despite the challenges.

Dowloadable audio

Laura Schmidt stands inside a new high tunnel at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm near downtown Sitka. The air is about 15 degrees warmer in here than it is outside–a perfect home for a sea of zucchini plants. She bends down and plucks one of their bright yellow flowers. She's hand-pollinating the plants to make sure they produce healthy fruit.

"So, I peeled off the boy flower and now this is the boy flower, and I'm gonna put it on the inside of the, you know, the female section," she says. "And you can see right below it, there's a little zucchini growing."

She picks an early zucchini that she'll sell on Saturday. 

Laura Schmidt holds up a zucchini flower. Pollinators like bees have a difficult time finding the plants inside the high tunnel's plastic walls, so Schmidt pollinates them by hand. (Erin McKinstry/KCAW)

Schmidt is the lead gardener for the Sitka Local Foods Network, which runs the town's farmers market. It's still operating this summer, despite the pandemic, but things are different. Customers pre-order and head to the farm just for pick-up. Having less interaction with customers is an adjustment, Schmidt said, but she's glad that people are still getting local food. 

"It's really nice to see people and have people come look at what you've been working on, but you know, what can you do," she said. Operating cashless and delivering orders to people's vehicles is a much safer alternative during the coronavirus pandemic, she said.

"It's really nice that people can still eat this produce and that it has some place to go, and people will appreciate it."

Some farmers markets, like the ones in Homer and Fairbanks for example, are still operating in-person, but they've required masks and spread out vendors to allow for social distancing. Sitka Local Foods Network President Charles Bingham said they didn't really have that option. Normally, they operate at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, but it was still closed when they were planning the market. 

St. Peter's Fellowship Farm doesn't have much space to spread out, so customers have to order and pay online at the Salt and Soil Marketplace. Bingham said they also reduced their vendors to a handful focused solely on food.

"Our mission is to increase the amount of locally-harvested foods in the diets of southeast Alaskans, and so arts and crafts is nice at the farmer's markets, but it's really not in our mission," he said.

Nalani James (left) and Ariane Goudeau (right) carry a sign down from St. Peter's Fellowship Farm for the soft opening of Sitka's Farmers Market. They are the markets new co-managers. (Courtesy of Sitka Local Foods Network)

Bingham's also on the Alaska Food Policy Council board and said they've seen job loss associated with the COVID-19 pandemic lead to increased food insecurity in many Alaska communities. Sitka's farmers market is partnering with local businesses and organizations to quadruple benefits for SNAP and WIC program participants when they purchase a vegetable box. But there's only so much they can do to help, Bingham said.

"We have a limited number of food being grown here in town and so food security is a major issue in this community and that's why we'd love to see more gardens, more people growing their own and that kind of thing," he said.

And affording food isn't the only food security issue the pandemic has raised, said Alaska Farmers Market Association Director Robbi Mixon. This spring, empty store shelves and reports of coronavirus spread in slaughterhouses down south highlighted food supply chain concerns in Alaska. That's one reason Mixon's organization worked with state agencies to declare farmers markets essential businesses in early April. 

"Realizing we're actually at the end of some of our food chains here. Alaska's often the last stop, you know, not being connected to the lower 48. That's one reason I think it's important to shop local now more than ever," Mixon said.

Farmers have also taken a hit as demand from tourists and restaurants decreases. So, Mixon said, her organization is working hard to make sure markets have the tools they need to stay open.

"We know how hard it is to run farmers markets during non-pandemic times, so our association has been really important to many markets this year in trying to figure out the best way to move forward during these challenging times," she said.

Each Alaska market is adapting their model to meet local needs and requirements. That's fitting in a city and state where growing things means thinking outside the box all the time, not just during the pandemic, said market gardener Laura Schmidt. 

Sitka Local Foods Network lead gardener Laura Schmidt uses duct tape to vent the sides of low tunnels at St. Peter's Fellowship Farm. The plastic, dome-like structures keep the soil warmer and help extend Sitka's growing season, but they also require air circulation. (Erin McKinstry/KCAW)

"It's always different in Sitka. It's not quite agriculture as we know it in other places," Schmidt said.

After a rainy June, she's hoping for a sunny July to boost local food production. But, rain or shine, visitors or no visitors, she'll make do with what she's got. 

For more information about how to navigate the adapted Sitka Farmers Market this year, head to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or call market co-manager Ariane Goudeau at 738-5015.