'Keeping things fresh'

PALMER — Palmer Fred Meyer received the Alaska Division of Agriculture’s ‘Golden Carrot’ Award for the second consecutive year. On Friday, Fred Meyer store Manager Dean Forkner and Produce Manager Parker Collins were presented with the award.

“I was over the moon,” said Collins. “It was just immediate elation, a really surreal experience to win it again but also to know that all of the work that we put in trying to push that product and really promote local in the heart of the department of ag is such a good feeling.”

Collins was unaware if the Alaska Division of Agriculture’s “$5 challenge” would continue past the COVID-19 pandemic, but was pleased to continue promoting local produce either way. Collins said that not only is he proud to present local farmer’s vegetables on store shelves at Fred Meyer, but other local products including Taco Loco chips, Havemeister Dairy milk and locally milled lumber as well.

“I think something that was a little different this year than I’ve ever seen in the past is that our main offices were able to put local product on ad, on sale you know. Potatoes during summer months or even the winter months on sale for great prices and pushing that product out really really helped. I think that is only going to continue and help support those local farmers getting their product out,” said Collins.

Collins was presented the award in front of the Palmer Fred Meyer produce aisles along with a gathering of Fred Meyer employees. Following a presentation of the award by Alaska Division of Agriculture Director Dave Schade, employees gathered together in a football-style breakdown to celebrate their accomplishment of promoting local produce. Collins sought out local farmer Ben Vanderweele to bring one of his tractors that served as a display in the storefront for weeks.

“The first year my store manager Dean, he said hey get after that carrot,” said Collins. “If you can justify having local produce in here that you can guarantee is going to sell because it will and that’s what the community, especially out here is looking for is that local product.”

A Valley store has won the award all four years and Palmer Fred Meyer has taken home the Golden Carrot for each of the last two years for excellence in promoting Alaska Grown products. Schade said that he was directed by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy to make sure that agriculture was a part of rebuilding the Alaskan economy. Schade said that Governor Dunleavy became increasingly concerned about Alaska’s food security during the pandemic when the Port of Seattle considered shutting down, effectively cutting Alaska off from food shipments.

“We’re doing a lot of things to try to increase our food security,” said Schade. “We did find out through the pandemic that we do not have adequate storage in our regional hubs for food security. So as part of our microgrant program, we’re making that a priority and working with USDA and our congressional delegation to make sure that our food hubs, we spread out where we have this food so that when we have a pandemic, when we have an earthquake, it’s more regionally based so that’s something we’ve been working on, trying to figure out how to work with the private sector and the nonprofit sector to enhance what we are already doing.”

Schade is happy to consume locally grown products and said unapologetically that he loves Alaska Grown. Schade not only noted the success of Alaska Grown products in the Mat-Su Valley, but noted the possibility of expanding farmland across Alaska. With 50,000 acres of farmland already cleared, projects in Nenana and Anchor Point have already begun, as well as indoor growing operations in Anchorage and Juneau.

“AC stores have been doing a great job of now trying to figure out how to get it into our rural villages and so you’re going to see I think a continued growth in Alaska agriculture because we’re dealing with the supply chain issues,” said Schade. “It drove home our supply chain issues and so as the director it’s been a lot easier for me to work on some of these logistic issues and help industry help itself.”

Schade noted that nationally, 80 percent of all farms benefit from off-farm income and hoped to help grow the Alaskan agriculture industry in part by promoting the $5 challenge.

“The great thing is to be able to recognize these are great people. So you know we want to be able to show off Alaskan agriculture and I take pride in what our staff has done and what these stores have done. It is just fantastic that you have stores that believe in the mission of the state and supporting our local economy,” said Schade. “This is the one time of the year, the biggest thing we give out right now because it is having such amazing impact on growing the production and the level of product that we run through our stores and it increases the value of our product for the store and for the farmer and so it’s all about the economics of farming, and if we can have a bigger market then we will be able to increase the volumes, therefore bringing down the costs to our individual farmers which makes it more cost competitive.”

Schade noted that Alaskan farmers produce $40 million dollars worth of food, but that Alaskans spend $2 billion in total on food. While some farmers are concerned with how large a ‘piece of the pie’ they receive, Schade argues that the ‘pie’ is unlimited and that the market for local produce is vast.

“I think the difference with Fred Meyer here is Parker decided with his boss that it’s going to be a win win for them,” said Schade. “They are going after it on behalf of the farmers and they put great displays on but they’ve also said it’s good for their bottom line and so the more they grow the better they can show their corporate people why we want to grow Alaskan, why we want to use the local product because it helps their volumes, it helps their turnaround, it keeps things fresh.”