Search the terms locavore and Alaska and you get snarky comments like this: "This [eating locally] is all well and good for people living in California, but how’s the local produce in Alaska?" from You Are What You Don't Eat, or, plaintive cries such as this woman who says she can find "no fruit within 100 miles but strawberries and for protein: only salmon, if they're running, and if one has a car to get to a fishing spot (from Locavores and 100 Mile Dieters)." Apparently, most people think of us a giant frozen wasteland, all the time. So, okay, Monday's high was -37 and this morning we woke up to nearly a foot of snow. It is January, after all--it's supposed to be wintry (I know, you non-Alaskans are thinking there is wintry and then there is hell, frozen over). But, it's still moose hunting season and my blue potatoes have only just started sending out ghostly fingers. I also have plenty of frozen carrots, purple cauliflower, and wild blueberries--and it's not as if freezer space is a problem--there's alwaysoutdoors!

So we only have three months of growing season--it's three months of 24-hour growth. None of that wimpy stuff like, say, night to interfere with all the photosynthetic goodness. This is the land of Giant Cabbages and 1,000 pound pumpkins, 55 pound squash, etc. (Don't believe me? Check out the Alaska State Fair). All it takes is a bit of planning--and a lot of canning jars--to get you through the winter. This wiki is designed to help with that.

Once you've become a member of the wiki, you can add your own resources or comments. I hope many will do so. Please share this new site with those you think might be interested. Anyone can use the wiki to read up on local choices.

It's taken me a long time to do the research needed to become more of a locavore. Information is scattered, out of date, and a lot of the local producers do not have an online presence. This wiki is intended to help with that. Besides, I'm a librarian. Compiling resources and making them available to others is what I do.