On Wednesday, October 24th, the Juneau School District celebrated Alaska Local Food Day with special menus in schools. Students were offered locally grown barley cereal from Delta Junction for breakfast as well as baked Alaska coho salmon from Taku Smokeries and coleslaw made with carrots and cabbage from Charlie’s Produce of Mat-Su Valley during lunch.  

Part of National Food Day and National Farm to School Month, Alaska Local Food Day 2012 celebrates local, healthy, affordable and sustainable foods. It is a collaborative effort between the Alaska Departments of Education & Early Development, Natural Resources and Health and Social Services.  

This school year, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) is helping school districts purchase nutritional Alaska foods by providing reimbursements for products that are grown, caught or harvested in Alaska. This week’s coho salmon from Southeast was purchased locally through Juneau’s Taku Smokeries.

This is part of a larger, ongoing effort of the Juneau School District’s food service program. The district has offered local foods processed by Trident Seafoods and Taco Loco in the past, and with the funding provided by DCCED will have the ability to offer a wider variety of local foods more often during the 2012-2013 school year.

In September, carrots and sugar snap peas from Merry Weather Farms of Gustavus were featured at select sites and fish from Trident Seafoods has been offered at all schools for the past two months. Future menu items will include locally grown carrots and potatoes, rockfish and smoked salmon.