We have completed another fantastic year of our Annual Community Potato Harvest!!!

On Monday, Sept 30, 2024, Chef Amy Foote, Senior Area Executive Chef, at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Alaska Native Medical Center, along with several colleagues, harvested the Tlingit & Haida potatoes that were grown in our Community Gardens this year. They harvested over 175 pounds. KTUU was present and interviewed Chef Amy and others in her crew regarding the potatoes and the work they are doing at the Alaska Native Medical Center. The ANTHC provides health services to Alaska Native and American Indian people in Alaska. Amy and her team use about 60% traditional ingredients in the food they serve. Traditional food helps to bring a familiarity to those who have traveled a long way to be cared for and nourished back to health. It’s amazing work they are doing!

Harvesters digging up potatoes in the community garden plot. lady standing in an orange coat with a shovel, the rest are crouched on the ground picking up potatoes. green field, blue sky.
Harvesting the Tlingit & Haida potatoes grown in the Community Gardens
Lady in Orange Shirt holding up potatoes that are in a large bin. lady beside her on right in pink hat with hands in potato bin.
Colleagues of Chef Amy Foote examining the harvested Tlingit & Haida potatoes.

On Tuesday, October 1st we had our Annual Community Potato Harvest. It was a beautiful sunny fall day. Registration opened at 10:30 am on Sept 26 and filled within 20 minutes. We had 38 families with approx. 45 kids participating. At the 9:30 am harvest Flat Stanley from a 2nd grade classroom in WI attended for a photo shoot to help teach kids in WI about agriculture in AK.  We provided bags, with the children receiving their own small bag for digging. Melissa Clampitt, Program Coordinator, and Jodie Anderson, Director IANRE, gave brief introductions about growing, harvesting, and storage of potatoes, as well as information about the potato varieties, to each group. After harvesting each group had their potatoes weighed and received a packet full of CES potato publications, the day ended with a total harvest of 1008.8 pounds of potatoes from 134 varieties. The children had so much fun, with one little boy looking like he had already been eating potatoes and parents having to chase little ones across the wide open field. 

Field of potatoes with people harvesting them. Blue sky above and buildings in the background.
Participants harvesting in the Annual Community Potato Harvest on October 1, 2024
Two children harvesting potatoes during the Community Potato Harvest on October 1, 2024. One is holding a small shovel and holding a potato up. Field behind them with other people digging potatoes.
Two children harvesting potatoes during the Community Potato Harvest on October 1, 2024
Participants in the community potato harvest picking potatoes in a field. People in foreground and background crouched on the ground picking potatoes.
Participants in the Community Potato Harvest collecting potatoes on October 1, 2024

On Wednesday morning MEFEC lifted the remainder of the potatoes and a group of volunteers with the Valley Thanksgiving Blessing came and gleaned the rest of the potatoes. They gleaned a total of 603 lbs of potatoes and then Gino Graziano & Joey Slowik donated another 470 lbs from their potato research bringing a grand total of 1074 lbs of potatoes that went to the Valley Thanksgiving Blessing. This event is coordinated through the Food Bank of Alaska and meals are distributed to local families in need the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. In 2023 they distributed 2,525 turkeys with all the sides. We are so honored to be able to help provide these meals to our community!

Staff and faculty were also able to get some potatoes as well, for a grand total of 1760 lbs harvest from our plot, 175 lbs from ANTHC and 470 lbs from research.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Christine Macknicki from the Alaska Division of Ag’s Plant Material Center for the donation of the seed potatoes! 

We are already looking forward to next year!

by Theresa Isaac, Senior Administrative Assistant, tmisaac@alaska.edu