Grow and Tell program seeks to feed, connect, educate

A creative effort to combat hunger and teach the importance of food security is quietly growing in Southcentral Alaska. What began in 2016 with a small group of farmers working together to grow a little extra food for the food bank, has blossomed since then.

The Alaska Tilth project, as it is known, is a program of Alaska Pacific University based at Spring Creek Farm on APU’s Palmer-area Kellogg campus. Four years after its launch, a grant from the nonprofit Mat-Su Health Foundation helped Alaska Tilth expand and work with more farmers to buy their produce and get it to anti-hunger organizations in the Valley.

Two years after that, under the leadership of new Kellogg Campus Director Kelly Marciales, efforts began to revamp the Alaska Tilth program to serve more food insecure people in the Mat-Su and provide educational outreach about how to use local produce in practical meals. That initiative evolved into Grow and Tell.

“Grow and Tell is a strategic part of the Alaska Tilth program designed to explore the Mat-Su food system,” Marciales said. “It brings together food producers, anti-hunger groups, and other stakeholders that wouldn't otherwise have opportunities to meet or learn from each other.”

Thanks to another Health Foundation grant this year, Grow and Tell was able to expand its operation and add to existing Alaska Tilth programming. Forward contracting with vendors was introduced, and partnerships with anti-hunger organizations were increased. Significantly, access to food storage resources was created in the Mat-Su, enabling local farmers to extend their season.

“There are many needs still to be addressed in our Mat-Su food system,” Marciales said. “But Grow and Tell gives intentional opportunities to those who work in food or distribution to talk about challenges, celebrate successes, and strategize for the future so that food producers and the community receiving the food all thrive together.”

Marciales was able to fundraise from individual donors to cover more than a quarter of the expense of purchasing market seconds or “ugly veggies.” This reduced food waste in the Mat-Su and created a market for an underutilized resource that was turned into locally produced foods served in meals at anti-hunger organizations like Kids Kupboard and Wasilla Senior Center.

The rest of the expenses are covered by larger donations, with the Mat-Su Health Foundation being the primary program funder.

“The Health Foundation has not only incubated this program from infancy to where it is today, it has also been a key partner in our collaborations,” Marciales said. “We still have much work to do to increase our stakeholders and vendors, volunteers and partner organizations. But without the connections through the Health Foundation, we would have been years behind where we are currently.”

That commitment to community health and wellness has been part of the mission of the Mat-Su Health Foundation since its inception in 2007, when it became part owner of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Since that time, the Health Foundation has invested more than $140 million of its share of hospital profits into the community in the form of scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofit groups around the Valley.

FIND OUT MORE

www.alaskapacific.edu/community-research/kellogg-campus/programs/spring-creek-farm/