The Kenai Peninsula outpaced the rest of the state in the rate of farm formations between 2007 and 2012 and a new project aims to connect those food producers with local businesses.
Manager Heidi Chay with the Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District says micro-farms are the norm of the Kenai Peninsula but precise data on the market hasn’t been collected until now.
Chay: “Although we have some data that comes from the AG census that says that Kenai Peninsula farms produce over $2 million a year in products, we really don’t have a lot of more specific data. At the same time we’ve also heard from food buyers that they don’t know what’s available locally or how to get it into their restaurants and kitchens.”
A study commissioned by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services in 2014 stated that 95 percent of the $2 billion spent annually on food purchased in Alaska is from other places. The District’s project aims to bolster Kenai Peninsula’s economy which Chay says will help things such as emergency preparedness to better health.
Chay says the District’s project will work best if as many people as possible participate.
Chay: “I know the farmers really well and I know we’ll get a really good response from the farmers but we especially want to reach out to the kitchen managers, whether they’re at restaurants, at lodges, at senior centers, fraternal organizations, health organizations and invited them to participate and shed light on the questions that we have about local food.”
The deadline to complete the surveys is December 5, 2016.
These are two separate surveys. The link for buyers is http://tinyurl.com/cppurchaser. The link for producers is http://tinyurl.com/cpfarmer. Buyers and producers can also opt to participate in this survey over the phone or in person by contacting the Kenai Soil and Water Conservation District at (907) 283-8732 x 108.