DECEMBER 2015
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
The Alaska Food Policy Council’s promotion of
healthy, affordable and local foods
Whether we grow it, catch it, hunt it or buy it, food is the
thread that ties every Alaskan together. The Alaska Food Policy Council
(AFPC) believes that all Alaskans should have access to healthy, affordable,
culturally-appropriate, and preferably local foods.
For the past five years, AFPC has looked at what impacts
food in Alaska and what we can do to improve the security of our food system to
benefit all. During that time, the council evolved from a program supported by
the state health department to a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization whose members range from educators and healthcare
providers to farmers and restauranteurs to architects and bankers.
The AFPC focuses on numerous factors that can affect
Alaskans’ food choices, including policies on locally grown foods in schools
and child care facilities, subsistence regulations, programs to support new
farmers, and food availability during emergencies and disasters. Achieving
greater food security will improve the following:
Health: Obesity and
other diseases affected by diet, such as type 2 diabetes, cost Alaska hundreds
of millions of dollars annually.[1] Strong local food systems increase the availability of healthy and affordable
foods.
Self-reliance: An
estimated 95% of the food Alaskans eat is imported.[2] Reducing our
reliance on imported food and increasing our ability to provide for ourselves
can protect us in times of emergencies.
Prosperity:
Alaskans spend over $2 billion each year on food.[2] Keeping more of our food dollars in Alaska by purchasing locally grown,
harvested, and made food products will strengthen local economies by increasing
jobs and incomes.
The AFPC looks at the whole “food system” — all the
activities of food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste
management. There are many players in the food system and many groups working
on their own food issues. Sometimes programs, policies, or regulations
implemented to benefit one sector can have an unintended, negative effect on
another. The AFPC works to convene the different stakeholders, and to
coordinate and empower their individual efforts to improve the overall food
system and reduce the unintended, negative consequences.
The AFPC began in 2010 with support from the Alaska Department of Health
and Social Services, Obesity
Prevention and Control Program (OPCP) and funding from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
to implement strategies to improve food access and availability. The USDA
Alaska Farm Service Agency, the Alaska
Division of Agriculture and the nonprofit Alaska
Center for the Environment quickly joined the effort. A strategic
plan was released in January 2012, setting the foundation of the AFPC’s
work toward a healthy, secure food system that feeds all Alaskans. Today,
nearly 300
individuals and agencies concerned about the sustainability of our food
system are members of the council.
Like other food policy councils across the country, the AFPC
examines how the state and local food systems function, and provides ideas and
recommendations for more secure food systems for Alaskans. The AFPC
commissioned reports from the UAA
Institute of Social and Economic Research[3]
and Ken Meter of Crossroads Resource Center
to improve the body of research that informs future projects and policy
decisions. In 2014 and 2015, the AFPC held town hall listening meetings in
Juneau, Nome, Palmer, Homer, Bethel, Fairbanks, and Anchorage to gain insights
into local food systems and increase community involvement in local food
issues.
In 2014, the AFPC held its first Food Conference
and Festival. Over 180 Alaskans from around the state participated in
presentations and hands-on workshops on a wide variety of topics, such as
conducting a local food security assessment, planning and promoting a small
food business, and cooking with Alaska barley. The second AFPC Food Conference
and Festival will be held February 26-28, 2016, at the University of Alaska
Anchorage. Click here for more details,
or contact Sam Ford at sam.ford@alaska.gov,
907-269-8072.
References:
- Trogdon
JG, Finkelstein EA, Feagan CW, Cohen JW. State- and payer-specific estimates of
annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity. Obesity, 2012; 20(1):214-220.
-
Meter K and Goldenberg MP. Building Food Security in Alaska.
Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN. July 2014. Accessed 11/6/15.
- Hanna V, Frazier R, Parker K and Ikatova I.
2012 Food system Assessment. September 2012. Institute of Social and Economic
Research, University of Alaska Anchorage.
|