2023 Alaska Food & Farm Festival

BETTER TOGETHER:

CELEBRATING OUR ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY

November 10-12, 2023

Egan Center, Anchorage, Alaska

About the Festival

This year the Alaska Farm Bureau is combining efforts with the Alaska Food Policy Council and Western Sare to produce the first Alaska Food and Farm Festival.
The Festival marks the seventh Sesquiannual Alaska Food and Farm Festival and the third annual Alaska Farm Bureau Convention.
This is a chance for our members to gather among other Alaska producers, network, learn about the latest available programs, how to advocate and raise awareness of the issues facing Alaskan Farmers. If you are a current farmer or looking to get into farming, this three day event is the perfect chance to learn about farming in Alaska.

Join us November 10-12 at the Egan Center in downtown Anchorage.
Learn about farming and agriculture in Alaska, hear from State Agency representatives, & shop local retailers. If you know folks, even if they aren’t members, who would be interested in learning about Alaska agriculture, then this convention is a good starting place for them.

Lots of educational opportunities for seasoned farmers, new farmers, youth and those interested in farming – plus fun events on the Trade Show stage!

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LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND FESTIVAL ARTIST!

Check out these speakers we have lined up for the Alaska Food & Farm Festival, check back regulary for updates!

KeyNote Speaker: Ken Meter

Ken Meter is one of the most experienced food system analysts in the U.S., integrating market analysis, business development, systems thinking, and social concerns. Meter holds 47 years of experience in inner-city and rural community capacity building. His local economic analyses have promoted local food networks in 140 regions in 40 states, two provinces, and three tribal nations.

Learn more about Ken and Crossroads Resource Center here

Key Note Speaker: Gabe Brown

Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources. Gabe, along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, own and operate Brown’s Ranch, a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. The ranch consists of several thousand acres of native perennial rangeland along with perennial pastureland and cropland. The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include a wide variety of cash crops, multi-species cover crops along with all natural grass finished beef and lamb. They also raise pastured laying hens, broilers and swine. This diversity and integration has regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides.

Gabe recently authored the book, “Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture.”

Key Note Speaker: Mariah Gladstone

Mariah Gladstone, Piikuni (Blackfeet) and Tsalagi (Cherokee), grew up in Northwest Montana on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she began her work on food advocacy. She developed Indigikitchen, an online cooking platform, to revitalize and re-imagine Native foods. Mariah has been recognized as a Champion for Change by the Center for Native American Youth and a Dreamstarter by the Running Strong for American Indian Youth foundation. She is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader, a MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellow, and a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow. Gladstone earned a Master’s degree at SUNY-ESF in the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. She has shared the importance of reconnecting to traditional foods at events throughout North America and abroad, as well as through appearances on the Today Show, CBC, the Toasted Sister podcast, and many more. During her cooking demonstration, she will prepare one of her original recipes and showcase other indigenous foods that can easily be used in the contemporary kitchen.

Festival Artist, Valisa Higman

Valisa Higman is a cut-paper artist from Seldovia, Alaska. Her work reflects her love of community, food, and nature. Valisa was born in Seldovia, Alaska, and studied psychology and art at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Along the way she has found inspiration in her surroundings. From the mountains of Colorado to the tea houses of Eastern Europe, the deserts of Africa to the limestone cliffs of Laos, she is forever moved by the beauty and grace the world has to offer.

Check out Valisa’s online store here.