Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audience for this project was community members that reside in South Fairbanks. This area, Census Tract 3 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, qualifies as a USDA-recognized food desert and struggles with both high rates of poverty, 21.9%, and unemployment, 10.9% (US Census Bureau, 2019), with 78% of the children in the area schools qualify for free or reduced-price school meals (Alaska Food Coalition, 2020). It is also home to a number of employment and social services organizations, as well as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and other food-security focused community efforts like the Southside Community Farmers Market. The ongoing partnership between the AFFECT project and the Fairbanks Community Food Bank has provided the project with direct connection to the populations that are the most food insecure in our community. Most of the Community Workshops were presented at the Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse facility, located on the main street that goes through the Bjerremark neighborhood. This walkable and accessible location is also the site where medically referred Food Is Medicine program participants come to get produce. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• The AFFECT Farmer Training programs were presented during the summers of 2022, 2023, and 2024. These programs provided a breadth of hands-on training and farming experience for 29 participants. 17 participants fully graduated, 3 participants partially graduated, and we had 9 additional participants who attended classes but not enough to fulfill graduation requirements. • AFFECT staff created a farming training curriculum specific to the Interior Alaska region. This was accomplished by collaborating with local farmers to ensure relevant and practical skills are included as part of this curriculum. This curriculum was used for all the summers of the AFFECT Farmer Training program. Lessons included farm planning and business development skills, production skills, marketing, harvesting, cold storage, and more. • Presented 56 food growing and processing classes and workshops open to all community members. 520 attendees were recorded at these workshops, some attendees took multiple classes. Community classes focused on hydroponics were the most attended. • Provided the low-income housing complexes associated with the Fairbanks Housing Authority with classes on how to grow their own food in small containers on their porches and in hydroponic grow towers in their common areas. • A large-scale hydroponic system was installed at Effie Kokrine High School, an Alaska Native Culture based charter school, in the fall of 2022. Students were introduced to both the process of hydroponic growing and had an increase of very locally grown produce into their diet. The FFA program at Effie Kokrine was reinstated as a result of this grant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The "Community Farmer Training Manual: A Guide to Jumpstarting Local Food Security" was produced as part of this grant and is now available online on the AFFECT website:www.affectfarm.com. Printed copies are available on request. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Increase low-income Fairbanks residents' access to locally grown food and workforce development opportunities in local large- and small-scale agriculture. • Presented 56 food growing and processing classes and workshops open to all community members. 520 attendees were recorded at these workshops, some attendees took multiple classes. Community classes focused on hydroponics were the most attended. • Of the AFFECT Community Class attendees who filled out the surveys and evaluations provided, 86% of participants felt they increased their knowledge of growing their own food, 68% felt they increased their knowledge of nutrition, 64% felt they increased their knowledge of local foods, and 61% felt they increased their knowledge in food security. For Gardening and Hydroponics workshops, 100% of survey respondents felt the class prepared them to create their own garden/hydroponic garden. felt they would likely start a home garden/hydroponic garden if they did not have one prior. In the Garden Planning workshop, 100% of survey respondents felt this class taught them successfully how to plan a garden for optional growth and output, 100% are likely to implement the strategies learned in the workshop, and 100% thought implementing the planning methods discussed would make their garden more productive and/or successful. • At least 80% of the Farmer Training graduates demonstrated a positive change in knowledge needed to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in farming. 4 out of 5 of the graduates in 2022 and 10 out of 11 of the full graduates of 2024 stated they gained valuable knowledge about farming in interior Alaska. 52% of the Farmer Training graduates responded to the final survey with new market farming plans. 1 of the 2024 graduates is staring a new farm in 2025, 1 is looking for farmland, 1 graduate started a new growing farm on her father's property, 2 graduates bought a tractor to prep their land for farming, and 1 stated they are planting a new fruit orchard starting next year. • Increased the low-income community's access points to fresh produce through the system at Effie Kokrine, where 61.94% of the student population is considered low income. The towers at the Northern Hope Center provided fresh produce to the members who are mainly low income or homeless individuals. • Over 3260 pounds of fresh produce grown in AFFECT's community gardens and hydroponic towers were donated to low-income food resource agencies such as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and Breadline Stone Soup community kitchen. Many pounds of food were directly donated to low-income families through AFFECT Farmer Training students. • Produce grown in the hydroponic systems at the FSWCD office and at the Northern Hope Center was donated to the Breadline Stone Soup community kitchen. • With additional financial assistance of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, community members and teams of volunteers built and distributed over 126 hydroponic grow towers to residents and agencies throughout the FNSB community. As part of this tower project, we worked closely with 14 different community agencies to find recipients for the towers. With presentations at these different agencies and the community tower builds, we taught 117 folks about how to use the towers and produce food for themselves. • Provided the low-income housing complexes associated with the Fairbanks Housing Authority with classes on how to grow their own food in small containers on their porches and in hydroponic grow towers in their common areas. • We built and put into production a community training garden at the Corinthian Baptist Church in South Fairbanks. Seven 32x4 foot beds were built with the assistance of summer VISTAS and community members. Produce from this garden, planted with mostly donated plants from greenhouses and community members, was donated to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and the Breadline Soup Kitchen. • in the Summer of 2024, as part of our partnership with the UAF Experiment Farm to use space at the farm as a training location for the AFFECT Farmer Training program, we assisted with the construction of a new production garden at the variety trials part the research fields. This partnership with UAF is leading to the development of a potential incubation farm partnership with the continuing AFFECT program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? • The AFFECT Farmer Training programs were presented during the summers of 2022, 2023, and 2024. These programs provided a breadth of hands-on training and farming experience for 29 participants. 17 participants fully graduated, 3 participants partially graduated, and we had 9 additional participants who attended classes but not enough to fulfill graduation requirements. • AFFECT staff created a farming training curriculum specific to the Interior Alaska region. This was accomplished by collaborating with local farmers to ensure relevant and practical skills are included as part of this curriculum. This curriculum was used for all the summers of the AFFECT Farmer Training program. Lessons included farm planning and business development skills, production skills, marketing, harvesting, cold storage, and more. • Presented 56 food growing and processing classes and workshops open to all community members. 520 attendees were recorded at these workshops, some attendees took multiple classes. Community classes focused on hydroponics were the most attended. • Provided the low-income housing complexes associated with the Fairbanks Housing Authority with classes on how to grow their own food in small containers on their porches and in hydroponic grow towers in their common areas. • A large-scale hydroponic system was installed at Effie Kokrine High School, an Alaska Native Culture based charter school, in the fall of 2022. Students were introduced to both the process of hydroponic growing and had an increase of very locally grown produce into their diet. The FFA program at Effie Kokrine was reinstated as a result of this grant.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:• Our primary target audience for this project is community members that reside in South Fairbanks. This area, Census Tract 3 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, qualifies as a USDA-recognized food desert and struggles with both high rates of poverty, 21.9%, and unemployment, 10.9% (US Census Bureau, 2019), with 78% of the children in the area schools qualify for free or reduced-price school meals (Alaska Food Coalition, 2020). It is also home to a number of employment and social services organizations, as well as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and other food-security focused community efforts like the Southside Community Farmers Market. The ongoing partnership between the AFFECT project and the Fairbanks Community Food Bank has provided the project with direct connection to the populations that are the most food insecure in our community. • Most of the Community Workshops were presented at the Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse facility, located on the main street that goes through the Bjerremark neighborhood. This walkable and accessible location is also the site where medically referred Food Is Medicine program participants come to shop for • The new training garden built during the summer of 2023 is located in the South Fairbanks area and will serve both local residents and the people who benefit from food boxes given by the Fairbanks Community Food Bank. Changes/Problems:• The AFFECT Farmer Training planned for the spring and summer of 2023 went through a number of changes due to low enrollment. We adjusted the way the classes were presented by opening them up to the public and combining with the summer workshops offered to try to boost attendance. This wasn't as successful as hoped. We did our best to advertise, but for some reason we just continued to have low attendance. • The main PI for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension/4H subaward left the University in June of 2023. We managed to secure an alternative PI with the Cooperative Extension program and opened up a new possibility of sustainability for the program by partnering with an established training program at the UAF Georgeson Botanical Garden. The issues the university was having with their business/grants management office delayed the official change. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• Organized and delivered the second summer of the AFFECT Farmer Training course which ran from May 4th-September 28th, 2023. The course curriculum was reviewed and changed based on suggestions from the previous year's students. Three shorter sections were planned to provide sections on the basics of setting up a production garden, the business aspects of running a farm business, and processing and harvesting of produce. The course was advertised through posters and advertisements on social media. 5 folks applied to the course. The first section of the class was run from May 4th to June 1st. 5 classes were presented. We had 3 regular attendees. The structure of this section was for FNSB residents with an interest in growing food who still want to learn more skills and want to work in the agriculture industry. Participants didn't need to have a massive amount of land but be interested in growing on a large scale or working closely with an established farm. This six-week session was to cover topics including microgreens, seed-starting, soil health, plant health, hydroponics, compost, and more. There was one classroom session per week and visits to a variety of local farms for hands-on learning as well. After the first session. The class met on Thursday evenings at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse. We planned two more sections for the summer but low enrollment encouraged us to change our plans to combine the farmer training classes with the community workshops and open the classes to the public and continue the farm visits. The second section was to be a seven-week session which would cover topics including farm planning, irrigation, field prep, crop rotation, cold storage, farming as a business, farm equipment, and selling your products.3 of the classes were presented and two were farm visits. 3 of the classes were planned but didn't happen due to instructor cancellation. The third section was planned as more classes on value added projects and harvesting and processing of produce. Three classes were presented, 3 classes that were planned did not happen due to instructor cancellation. Two of the classes that did happen were also farm visits. • Presented 17 food growing and processing classes and workshops. Class topics includedComposting, Growing Mushrooms, Food Preservation, Hydroponics, Cooking with What you Have, Beekeeping, Garden Planning, Food Preservation: What Do I Do With All This Rhubarb?, Food Preservation: Sauerkraut, Cold Storage, Harvesting and Processing, Mushroom Log Inoculation, Putting Your Garden to Bed: Prepping Your Harvest for Winter, and Kombucha. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?• Information about AFFECT programs and projects were presented at the Interior Alaska Builders Association Home Show in March, the Nenana Ag Day in May,Tanana Valley State Fair in August, and the Chena Hot Springs Energy Fair in August. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?• Schedule and deliver a series of a minimum of 15 additional community classes and workshops between September 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. • Offer the AFFECT Farmer Training Course again starting in the spring of 2024. This summer we will be partnering with the UAF Harvest Project Collaborative (HPC). The HPC has been in operation since 2020 and includes the Georgeson Botanical Garden (GBG), the Vegetable Variety Trials program, the Office of Sustainability's Nanook Grown program, and the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District. Their mission is to build food resilience and food systems awareness in our community through donating fresh, locally grown produce to those in need, teaching people how to grow food, and empowering the next generation to be local change-makers for food sovereignty. By partnering with the HPC, we will offer training programs at the UAF garden, the Corinthian Baptist Center Garden, and collaborate with local farmers to visit and gain knowledge on farming, gardening, and food processing in our area. Our hope by combining our projects, we will provide a path to sustainable farm training programs and ultimately write more grants to support an incubator garden area in the UAF fields to encourage more farms in interior Alaska. • Continue the development of the AFFECT Farmer Training Program curriculum and structure to combine with the Harvest Project Collaborative. • Continue the development and operation of the hydroponic system at Effie Kokrine Charter School. Encourage more students to participate in the project. • A 30-minute presentation about Hydroponics and Biologic Compost-Based Fertilizers will be given at the Alaska Food and Farm Festival and Conference in November of 2023. An information table will be set up in the Farm Expo area. • Work with the FNSB School District Nutrition Services assistant director to develop additional school locations for hydroponic growing systems and work with schoolteachers to include students in the growing of the produce. • Offer a FNSB School District educator workshop on Hydroponics in collaboration with Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom. • Build additional hydroponic grow towers and provide these towers to community members through agencies serving low-income families. Continue development of relationships with these agencies by providing workshops for both staff and community members served at these locations. • Complete the AFFECT Community Hydroponic Farm Development Manual to provide information on developing a similar project in building and maintaining their own hydroponic farms in other communities throughout the state of Alaska.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
• Delivered the second summer of the AFFECT Farmer Training course. Three shorter sections were planned to provide sections on the basics of setting up a production garden, the business aspects of running a farm business, and processing and harvesting of produce. 11 classes and farm visits were presented. . • A graduatefrom last year's farmer training program sold produce at the Southside Community Farmer's Market. • Two farmers opened the Island Farm in January of 2023. They sold to local stores.Over 525 Greens and Herbs were sold. They set up a portable hydroponic growing table at the Fairbanks Community Co-opwhere fresh growing plants were purchased by shoppers. •The Island Farm ownerreceived a grant from the Native American Agricultural Fund to research the growing of native food plants in the hydroponic systems He worked with elders in the Hooper bay community to gather local seeds. • Kelly May researched the development of a Fairbanks Food Hub. He reached out to villages in Circle, Galena, and Hooper Bay to see if developing partnerships with the village councils to deliver fresh produce for their elder nutrition program was feasible and possible. All the villages contacted said they would buy all the produce offered. • We are working with other statewilde agenciesincludingAlaska Village Initiatives to develop a statewide network for training farmers and agriculture workersthat communities can replicate to fit their needs. • We are part of the development of a new Hydroponics Working Committee withthe Alaska Food Policy Council to pool the resources of different organizations working on statewide. • Developed a new system of biological hydroponic fertilizers using composting and microbe-based solutions to limit the reliance on commercial fertilizers. The transportation of commercial fertilizer has been a roadblock to the use of hydroponics in the rural, underserved communities of Alaska not on the road system. This solution will be groundbreaking and a way to encourage more local food production in communities throughout Alaska. • Presented 17 food growing and processing classes and workshops.Community classes focused on hydroponics were the most attended. • Out of the 13 community workshops offered between September 2022 and August 2023, we had 88 participants complete the post participation evaluations. Of those that answered, 76% felt they increased their knowledge of growing, 70% felt they increased their knowledge of nutrition, 64% felt they increased their knowledge of local foods, and 61% felt they increased their knowledge in food security. For Gardening and Hydroponics workshops, 100% of survey respondents felt the class prepared them to create their own garden/hydroponic garden. felt they would likely start a home garden/hydroponic garden if they did not have one prior. In the Garden Planning workshop, 100% of survey respondents felt this class taught them successfully how to plan a garden for optional growth and output, 100% are likely to implement the strategies learned in the workshop, and 100% thought implementing the planning methods discussed would make their garden more productive and/or successful. • Continued documenting the steps taken by our partners with the Island Farm on how they have developed and established a hydroponic farm business and community food project. • Continued support for local farms and farmers by providing opportunities for training on their farms for at least one student that completed the farmer training program. • A large scale NFT hydroponic system was installed at Effie Kokrine High School, an Alaska Native Culture based charter school, students were introduced to both the process of hydroponic growing and had an increase of very locally grown produce into their diet. Produce grown in the system was integrated into their school lunch nutrition program. Additional produce not needed was distributed to other local district schools. . It was in full production, 262 plant sites, during the school year. In 32 weeks of school time they produced over 500lbs of lettuce. As a result of this experience, the students working on the farm restarted their school's FFA program to learn more about what it takes to be a farmer and explore the farming profession. • Fairbanks Boys and Girls club set up a space with 6 grow towers and a seedling shelf as a satellite location for both food production and mental health chill out space for teens attending their programs. The towers produced food that teens ate during their time at the club and also took home to their families. • Worked with the members of the Northern Hope Center, a mental health drop in facility in downtown Fairbanks, on growing vegetables in two hydroponic towers and their indoor soil raised bed located in their facility. Members of the center were encouraged to participate in the project and were able to take home produce grown there. Harvests from their system were regularly donated to the Breadline Stone Soup community kitchen. • Produce the hydroponic systems at the FSWCD office and at the Northern Hope Center was donated to the Breadline Stone Soup community kitchen. • Continued development of the AFFECT website and Facebook page, and additional communications materials for the project. AFFECT website visits for the grant report time period was 1194. Facebook engagement includes 106 page likes and 163 page followers. •3 different villages requested us to provide assistance with their development of hydroponic growing systems. We contracted with the North Slope School District to teach middle and high students about hydroponic plant production and build 2 large systems and grow towers. • With the assistance of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, community members and teams of volunteers built and distributed 100+ hydroponic grow towers to residents and agencies throughout the FNSB community. We worked closely with 14 different community agencies to find recipients for the towers. With presentations at these different agencies and the community tower builds, we taught 117 folks about how to use the towers and produce food for themselves. • Provided the low-income housing complexes associated with the Fairbanks Housing Authority with classes on how to grow their own food. • With the assistance of an Alaska Division of Agriculture Food Security Micro-grant, we built and put into production a community training garden at the Corinthian Baptist Church in South Fairbanks. Seven 32'x4'beds were built with the assistance of summer VISTAS and community members. 494 pounds of produce from this garden, planted with mostly donated plants from greenhouses and community members, was donated to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and the Breadline Soup Kitchen. • 3 students successfully completed all the requirements for the first section of the AFFECT Farmer Training course. One student completed all three sections of the course and was graduated in September 2023. • We developedour partnership with the UAF Experiment Farm and Georgeson Botanical Garden to use space at the farm as a training location as well as working with staff to provide training. We are establishing a training program in partnership with UAF to provide a sustainable path forward for this project. • We are assisting with the creation of a new Hydroponics working committee under the auspices of the Alaska Food Policy Council to pool the resources of different organizations working on. • Organized the donation of over 556 pounds of food grown in local community and church gardens to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and the Food Is Medicine program. • An additional 175lbs of produce from the gardens and the hydroponic systems at the Northern Hope Center and the FSWCD office was donated to the Breadline Stone Soup community kitchen.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audience for this project is community members that reside in South Fairbanks. This area, Census Tract 3 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, qualifies as a USDA-recognized food desert and struggles with both high rates of poverty, 21.9%, and unemployment, 10.9% (US Census Bureau, 2019), with 78% of the children in the area schools qualify for free or reduced price school meals (Alaska Food Coalition, 2020). It is also home to a number of employment and social services organizations, as well as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and other food-security focused community efforts like the Southside Community Farmers Market. The ongoing partnership between the AFFECT project and the Fairbanks Community Food Bank has provided the project with direct connection to the populations that are the most food insecure in our community. We are also targeting low-income residentsof the greater Fairbanks North Star Borough, not specifically in the South Fairbanks neighborhood,with our efforts and activities. ? Changes/Problems:In January of 2022, finalization of the changes made to the grant due to the loss of the original hydroponic farmer backing out of the project was accepted by USDA NIFA. We set to work implementing the changes to the AFFECT Farmer Training Program that included the addition of 10 local farmers being involved in the course as instructors and mentors. A partnership was established with two individuals to start a new hydroponic farm. They decided to fully investigate all options for the structure of the farm and this delayed their opening of the farm. They felt that this development time was necessary to the success of the project, but plans are moving forward and they are obtaining the funding required for the farm. They plan to have the farm in production in early 2023. Plans for presenting in person community classes in the spring of 2022 were stalled due to the emergence of the Omicron variant and subsequent variants. Classes were presented during the late spring of 2022 and through the summer. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Organized and delivered the AFFECT Farmer Training course which ran from April 19-September 20th. The course curriculum was finalized in early January and was reviewed by participating farmers in early 2022. A schedule of classes and farm visits was developed with the assistance of a local farmer. 10 farmers participated in the course instruction. A main course instructor was hired in late February. 14 studentsapplied to the course. 11 students started the course.The course was delivered through a google classroom. The class met on Tuesday evenings at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse and a zoom option was offered for students if they could not attend in person. A total of 19 classes were delivered. 17 Visits to local farms were conducted. Some were considered mandatory and others were optional. Transportation was offered to all students if needed. 5 students completed the course, with one additional student who attended most of the sessions and farm visits but didn't complete enough coursework to graduate. The students were graduated with a ceremony that included a farm to table dinner that the students, farmers, and course assistants were invited to attend. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?• Offer the AFFECT Farmer Training Course again starting in the spring of 2023. We hope to reorganize the course into shorter modules but offer the same or increased number of classes. We hope to increase our network of established farmers assisting the delivery of the course content and providing on farm education at their locations. • Continue support of the Island community farm. Work with them to obtain funding to move to a larger location and develop a DEC approved kitchen facility, education classroom, and their food hub program. • Complete the development of the specialized Hydroponic Farmer Training program in partnership with the Island Community Farm. Offer this training starting in Summer of 2023. • Build additional hydroponic grow towers and provide these towers to community members through agencies serving low-income families. Continue development of relationships with these agencies by providing workshops for both staff and community members served at these locations. • Build the training community garden with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.(this project was delayed due to a Food Bank construction project) • Schedule and deliver a series of a minimum of 15 additional community classes and workshops before September 1, 2023. • Working with the FNSB School District Nutrition Services assistant director, develop additional school locations for hydroponic growing systems and work with schoolteachers to include students in the growing of the produce. • Work with the UAF Cooperative Extension 4H program to provide classes to students in local schools on nutrition and food preparation. • Develop the draft of the Community Farm manual.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1:Improve resilience and access to innovative methods of food production in Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and beyond through public-private partnerships. • Organized and delivered the AFFECT Farmer Training course which ran from April 19-September 20th. The course curriculum was finalized in early January and was reviewed by participating farmers in early 2022. A schedule of classes and farm visits was developed with the assistance of a local farmer. 10 farmers participated. 14 studentsapplied to the course. 11 students started the course.The course was delivered through a google classroom. The course met on Tuesday evenings at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse and a zoom option was offered for students. A total of 19 classes were delivered. 17 Visits to local farms were conducted. 5 students completed the course, with one additional student who attended most of the sessions.The students were graduated with a ceremony that included a farm to table dinner that the students, farmers, and course assistants were invited to attend. • Connected one student from the AFFECT Farmer Training course with a local farm to become an employee for this farm. • Had one graduate establish a farm business and begin selling produce and eggs at the farmers market located in South Fairbanks. • Established partnership with two entrepreneurs to start a community hydroponic farm in Fairbankscalled the Island. • Visited a number of hydroponic businesses in Anchorage in November 2021 with the Island project developers. Supported and established a mentorship for the Island project owners with the owner and grower at Anchorage Greens, a hydroponic farm in Anchorage. • Continued development of the AFFECT advisory council. • Presented at the Alaska Food Policy Council Virtual Conference on March 18, 2022 about the AFFECT project and discussed developing the Trans-Alaska network of folks working on community farms. • Kelly May, of the Island, visited a number of village communities and spoke with their elders about providing produce for their communities with the hydroponic farm they are developing. • Presented 11 community workshops during the summer of 2022. Workshop topics included: Soil and Soil Management, Introduction to Gardening, Hydroponics, Growing Mushrooms, Food Preservation, and Composting. 99 community members attended these classes and all were given surveys. Of those that completed surveys 100% of them said they wanted to take more classes and continue learning. eat more local produce. 77 of the attendees signed up to receive email updates about future class offerings. In the food preservation class, 80% of the survey respondents said they increased their knowledge about including more local produce into their diets. • Continued documenting the steps taken by our partners with the Island Farm on how they are developing and establishing a hydroponic farm business and community food project. • Working with local farmers involved in the AFFECT project to develop the Farmer Training program to help support their businesses. • Built and installed 21 hydroponic grow towers in various locations throughout the FNSB community. Locations include the Northern Hope Center, the Senior Center, the Noel Wien Library, the Fairbanks Children's Museum, ThriveAlaska pre-school and head start programs, Breadline Stone Soup Community Kitchen, the Fairbanks Boys and Girls Club, The Fairbanks North Star Borough's Adaptive Recreation program, City of Fairbanks VISTA program, Fairbanks City Fire Station (2 locations), and the Borough Public Works department. Specifically, Breadline Stone Soup has incorporated the produce grown in the towers into their meal offerings for food insecure community members they serve and they have had their towers for almost a year. • Continued conversations with the Outpost Greenhouse in Two Rivers. Assisting with the establishment of their teen hydroponic gardening program. Also, this farm became a partner in the Farmer Training course. • Worked with the members of the Northern Hope Center, a mental health drop in facility in downtown Fairbanks, on growing vegetables in both the hydroponic tower and the soil bed located in their facility. Assisted them with classes and maintenance of the plants starting in May of 2022 and continuing after the end of the summer. Showed them how to harvest without removing the entire plants. Their cook began incorporating the produce they grew into the meals they offer at the facility. • Continued development of the AFFECT website and Facebook page, and additional communications materials for the project. Website engagement for the grant report time period was 1331. Facebook engagement includes 78 page likes and 100 page followers. • A large scale NFT hydroponic system was accepted for installation at Effie Kokrine High School, an Alaska Native Culture based school open to all. This system will grow food for their nutrition program. This system is planned to be replicated in the school district to provide both fresh produce and STEM based science connections for the FNSB students. Goal 2:Increase low-income Fairbanks residents' access to locally-grown food and workforce development opportunities in local large- and small-scale agriculture. • Established partnership with Alaska Mental Health Trust to help support efforts to have more personal healthy food growing options in Fairbanks. Obtained funding from AKMHT to build and supply 100 grow towers to the greater FNSB community members who qualify as beneficiaries for the trust. Established partnerships with agencies working with these beneficiaries. • Worked with the FNSB adaptive recreation program on community garden projects in Fairbanks. Provided the program with a hydroponic grow tower. • Established partnership with the Northern Hope Center, a mental health drop-in center, to develop their indoor garden project. • Wrote and received an agriculture project micro-grant from the Alaska Division of Agriculture, in partnership with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, to support and assist in the building of a training and workforce development community garden facility. This project was put on hold as the location designated in the grant was used for a warehouse building for the food bank. An alternative location has been chosen and the process of approval for installation has begun. • 5 students successfully completed all the coursework for the 6 month AFFECT Farmer Training course. • Continuedto develop with our partnership with the UAF Experiment Farm and Georgeson Botanical Garden to use space at the farm as a training location as well as working with staff to provide training. It is our intent to establish a training program in partnership with UAF to provide a sustainable path forward for this project. • Working with other agencies in Alaska including the Alaska Village Initiatives to establish and develop a statewide program for training farmers and agriculture workers in Alaska that communities can replicate to fit their needs. • Organized the donation of over 498 pounds of food grown in local community and church gardens to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and the Food Is Medicine program. Produce donated included squash, zucchini, kale, lettuce, basil and other herbs, tomatoes, peas and cabbage. • 4 raised bed planter boxes were installed and planted at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank Clubhouse. Produce grown in these beds were donated to the Food Is Medicine Program. • 4 raised bed planter boxes were installed and planted at the No Limits Re-entry Program located on South Cushman Street. Produce grown in these beds was donated to their clients.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Our primary target audience for this project is community members that reside in South Fairbanks. This area, Census Tract 3 of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, qualifies as a USDA-recognized food desert and struggles with both high rates of poverty, 21.9%, and unemployment, 10.9% (US Census Bureau, 2019), with 78% of the children in the area schools qualify for free or reduced price school meals (Alaska Food Coalition, 2020). It is also home to a number of employment and social services organizations, as well as the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and other food-security focused community efforts like the Southside Community Farmers Market. The ongoing partnership between the AFFECT project and the Fairbanks Community Food Bank has provided the project with direct connection to the populations that are the most food insecure in our community. The Meal Preparation class was hosted at the Food Bank Volunteer Clubhouse facility, located on the main street that goes through the Bjerremark neighborhood. This walkable and accessible location is also the site where medically-referred Food As Medicine program participants come to shop for free produce throughout the week. The Meal Prep class was developed to be a demonstration of simple ways to combine locally grown produce with shelf-stable food found in Food Bank emergency food boxes. As a result of the class, we connected directly with Food As Medicine participants and responded to their need for recipes and instructions on cooking with unfamiliar vegetables, especially ones that grow well in our region and were donated by local community gardens throughout the summer (i.e. kohlrabi, beets, summer squash). Efforts to appropriately reach our target audience can also be seen through the intentional development of curriculum and programming for the AFFECT job training course. Firstly, we are developing our job training program to be accessible to adults that may work full-time by creating online, asynchronous lesson plans that can be completed on the participant's own time. These online modules will be supplemented by on-farm, experiential learning opportunities developed in collaboration with local farms. Additionally, we are developing our programming with input from Alaska Seeds of Change in Anchorage - an indoor farm that employs youth to help them develop the vocational and personal skills needed to become successful adults - and Bread Line Inc.'s Stone Throw program, a job training program providing culinary, life and employment skills. With input from these successful programs, the AFFECT job training program will provide a unique training opportunity relevant to our target audience. Changes/Problems:We had to make a change to some of the original structure of the grant. Yukon Farms, which was supposed to be the focus of this grant, was promised to be in large scale production by the end of August 2020, when the grant was awarded but it never started the large scale farm in any location. Yukon Farms owner Will Hutto made excuses and asked for us to be patient, then he told us he would have it running by January, then by April, and it just never happened. We asked repeatedly about his progress both on the farm and on the farmer training curriculum he said he was writing. He decided he didn't want to participate in the grant and notified us officially at the end of April of 2021. Without the large hydroponic farm and the knowledge of the original contractor Dr. Will Hutto as a key source of hydroponic knowledge and production, we needed to seek out an alternative to the hydroponic farm. We began seeking out a new hydroponic farmer. Without someone to take over the hydroponic farm idea right away, we decided to leverage additional partnerships with local conventional farmers. We researched other similar local farmer training initiatives to keep the AFFECT Community Farm Project moving forward. This structural shift in the original premise of the project certainly changes our approach to implementation, but it also presented an opportunity for the AFFECT project to respond more appropriately to broader agriculture community support by including more farms and farmers and meet the Fairbanks community needs and interest. Regarding the Farmer Training program, we are revising the farmer training program while trying to meet the original goals of the grant as closely as possible. We have established new partners to host the farmer training. We have been developing ways to include some of our small scale conventional farmers and more local farms as workforce training locations. We have a number of local farmers as well as the University of Alaska Experiment Farm and Georgeson Botanical Garden willing to partner with us to provide a variety of locations for the farmer training program. Initially the hydroponic farmer was to both write the curriculum and teach the farmer training. We have hired an experienced curriculum writer to develop the modules of the Farmer Training course and he has almost completed the course materials. Solidifying the details of how to attract participants in the training program has been a challenge because initially the farmer was going to subsidize the trainers and some of the farm workers as his match. We are seeking alternative non-federal funding to provide stipends for the students in the program . Due to Covid, our plans of doing community presentations have stalled. The one workshop we organized on Food Preparation with Bread Line Soup Kitchen Chef Marisa Pena on August 3rd at the Food Bank Clubhouse was not attended by any community members. 4H classes at the local schools were stalled due to Covid restrictions in the spring and lack of Covid safety during the start of the school year. We are working on planning some hybrid classes, virtual and in-person, for the coming late fall/winter on indoor food production, nutrition and food prep, and other topics identified in the community surveys. We are working on a schedule and outlines for these presentations. Feedback from our two Community Input meetings, discussions with agency collaborators, and at statewide food security conferences have revealed relevant considerations. We have enthusiastic and engaged community members who are definitely interested in increased food security through year round food production and the proposed community outreach classes. Professionals in the agriculture community of Fairbanks would like to see the project be successful. We reached out to many resource agencies for support and expanded upon the conventional farming component and expanded workforce development opportunities. Farms in the Fairbanks North Star Borough have a real need for labor and marketing assistance, and the AFFECT project has the opportunity to develop a job training course that includes a practicum placement at a number of local farms in collaboration with 3-4 local farmers to fulfil the commitment to the goal of public-private partnership(s). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A workshop was organized on Meal Preparation with Bread Line Chef Marisa Pena to be delivered on August 3rd, 2021 at the Food Bank Clubhouse. We started developing training and professional development materials and curriculum for the AFFECT job training program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Finalize a partnership and memorandum of understanding with our new hydroponic business partners and assist them in getting their business set up in the new Food Bank building. Build additional hydroponic bucket towers with purchased supplies and set up each tower up at locations that are accessible to our target audience, such as Access Alaska, Bread Line soup kitchen, the Fairbanks Senior Center and more. Build the community garden at the Food Bank. Hire a job training program coordinator and teacher. Finalize the job training program, develop program applications, and recruit program participants. Start the Job Training Program with students recruited for VISTA and other community agency partners. Schedule and deliver a series of 15 community classes and workshops, including online attendance options with Covid-19 safety considerations for in-person classroom space.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Improve resilience and access to innovative methods of food production in Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and beyond through public-private partnerships. a. Increase the number of skilled farmers working in the FNSB agriculture industry. Created a conventional farming training curriculum specific to the Interior Alaska region. Collaborating with local farmers to ensure relevant and practical skills are included as part of this curriculum. Prepared and collected surveys from 8 local farmers about their labor force and hiring practices. This revealed that a significant number (6/8) of conventional farmers surveyed currently struggle to hire skilled labor. Conducted interviews of local farmers to gauge interest in partnering to provide on-site farm training and mentorship for the Farmer Training program. Participated in roundtable discussions to update the Borough's Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the agriculture sector. Conducted outreach to state and federal employment supportive services and social services agencies to gather input on best procedures to accommodate and offer the AFFECT job training program to their clients who are our target audience of low-income food insecure individuals. Prepared and conducted an interview of local farmers to gauge interest in providing on-site farm training and mentorship for Farmer Training program. b. Trans-Alaskan network of agricultural entrepreneurs organizes to grow the supply of local produce in FNSB and rural, underserved communities. Organized an Advisory Council based on survey responses and member recommendations. Held monthly meetings starting on March 3rd. Sought out and recruited new members for the council.Reached out to agencies such as Alaska Behavioral Health, Alaska Mental Health Trust, the Fairbanks chapter of NAACP, Tanana Chiefs Conference to establish partnerships. Established and explored connections to statewide hydroponic projects including a large scale production farm in Valdez. Received mentorship regarding indoor growing and potential job training program from the Alaska Seeds of Change program and the Alaska Village Initiatives program in Anchorage. c. Increase in the number of AFFECT learning community participants who change their food purchasing habits to include more local produce. Planned and hosted a Meal Preparation class with Bread Line Inc. chef. Provided recipes that feature local ingredients to the participants of the Food As Medicine program at the Food Bank. Established a collaborative partnership with the Agriculture Project Manager at Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation. We will collaborate on future initiatives and events for Tours of Farms and Chef at the Market. d. Grow the agricultural sector and create agriculture jobs in FNSB. Documenting the steps taken by our partner to develop and establish an hydroponic farm business and community food project. In particular, we are documenting the steps taken to create a business. e. Increase year-round hydroponic food production in FNSB. This will be achieved when four satellite hydroponic grow stations have been installed at organizations who work with food-insecure communities and have successfully produced food for one year. We met on July 22, 2021 with managers of a greenhouse in Two Rivers who wish to start a satellite program and involve local teens and young adults in a training program at their location. Ongoing conversations and development with one of our Advisory Council members about a hydroponic satellite location in Nenana, a community 56 miles from Fairbanks. f. Increase in the number of community member participants, especially low-income families, and individuals, who understand where their food comes from, how food is grown, and how these factors positively and negatively affect their health and the environment, by 75% at the end of their participation in AFFECT. Collaboration established with Calypso Farm and Ecology Center's garden leadership course for AFFECT to expand and build upon their pilot program. Translating AFFECT community classes to be taught in online format since access to the Food Bank's Volunteer Clubhouse classroom is suspended due to Covid. Developed website, logo, email, Facebook page, and additional communications materials for the project. Peak engagement on the Facebook page shows that one post reached 218 people. Food Bank box surveys have been developed and included in emergency food box distribution for our 2 Community Scoping meetings (12/16 and 3/11) and our Meal Preparation Class (8/3). Local radio advertisements were recorded and aired for both of our Community Scoping Meetings. An article about the hydroponics project was written and featured in the local newspaper, the Daily News-Miner on December 16, 2020. Local television news featured an interview about the AmeriCorps VISTA program and our Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District VISTA discussed the hydroponic project and the importance of addressing food security in our community. Goal 2: Increase low-income Fairbanks residents' access to locally-grown food and workforce development opportunities in local large- and small-scale agriculture. a. Increase in the number of community member participants who understand and use productive indoor and at-home gardening methods. This will be achieved when over 50% of community members who participate in AFFECT report that they have replaced a portion of their bought food with self-grown produce within two grow seasons after completing a class through AFFECT. In collaboration with a local FFA group, we developed a video tutorial on how to build a simple indoor hydroponic tower from 2 and 5-gallon buckets and PVC pipe. b. Increase in the number of AFFECT job training program graduates who feel they now have the knowledge and tools needed to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in indoor farming, traditional agriculture, and marketing. nothing to report c. Increase in AFFECT job training graduates who choose to pursue a career or higher education in the agriculture industry. We are developing a partnership with the UAF Experiment Farm and Georgeson Botanical Garden to use space at the farm as a training location as well as working with staff to provide training. It is our intent to establish a training program in partnership with UAF to provide a sustainable path forward for this project. Researching potential avenues for our job training program to be certified. This has entailed conversations with US Department of Labor representatives, conversations with Seeds of Change farm in Anchorage about their apprenticeship programs, and additional contact with nation-wide farmer training programs. d. Increase the low-income community's access points to fresh produce. Organized the donation of over 1300 pounds of food grown in local community and church gardens to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank and the Food IsMedicine program.
Publications
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