Alaska Grown now fourth most liked agricultural program on Facebook

Recently “Alaska Grown” surpassed “Go Texan”, Texas’s state agricultural program, with a Facebook following, having almost 3,000 more “likes”. It put Alaska as the fourth most “liked” agricultural program among the 50 states.

Only Florida, California and Kentucky, with large populations, top Alaska Grown as most liked.

“The interesting thing is we have such a small population, and for us to have such a big (Facebook) following is great,” said Johanna Herron, Alaska Grown marketing director.

Alaska Grown is a state organization launched in 1985 with a mission is “to promote and encourage the development of a sustainable agriculture industry in Alaska,” according to its Facebook page. It is also the second longest-run agricultural promotion program in the nation. Most states in the U.S. also have their own versions of an agricultural program which promotes buying and utilizing local food.

Alaska Grown, a program run by the division of agriculture, has been supporting and promoting locally grown food for 33 years. Alaska Grown, a program run by the division of agriculture, has been supporting and promoting locally-grown food for 33 years.

Alaska’s economy has always had a focus on small businesses, with locally-grown food being a big part of that.

Tuesday, March 20th marked National Agriculture day, with the month of March being National Nutrition month.

The Division of Agriculture runs many programs and promotions other than Alaska Grown. “We work on anything from getting the Farmers’ market brochure updated, to “farm to school” (improving nutrition in school meals). We have a retail program called the ‘Alaskan Grown’ five-dollar challenge. We support producers to get them into retail,” says Johanna Herron. Recently Herron has been working with local florists on getting their flowers into big retail stores such as Fred Meyer.

The Alaska Grown sticker is a hallmark of the program. “The agriculture industry in Alaska created the Alaska Grown logo to highlight products grown in Alaska,” states the Department of Natural Resources site. The sticker helps consumers identify locally grown products in stores to encourage and promote buying local food.

Alaska Grown has new developments which include developing an app for restaurant recognition, which will help people locate restaurants that support Alaskan grown local food.

Suzanne Fonova lives in Wasilla and is a journalism student at the University of Alaska Anchorage