{"id":3347,"date":"2022-03-31T09:30:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T13:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/food-faith\/?p=3347"},"modified":"2022-03-31T09:31:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T13:31:26","slug":"building-community-and-food-security-in-the-far-north-yarducopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/building-community-and-food-security-in-the-far-north-yarducopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Community and Food Security in the Far North\u2014Yarducopia"},"content":{"rendered":"

This update comes from Alaska Community Action on Toxics<\/a>, a Presbyterian Hunger Program grant partner.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Yarducopia Harvest Party in August 2021<\/p><\/div>\n

The goal of the Yarducopia organic gardening program is to build a grassroots movement of gardeners in Alaska who will work toward a toxic-free, climate stable, and food secure world. This program continues to grow significantly, with the inclusion of additional community partners such as schools, churches\/synagogues, food banks, and other non-profits. We provide or help locate seeds, seedlings, and organic materials for building the gardens, as well as training in gardening techniques for success in the challenging local climates. We create neighborhood gardens by matching up homeowners who are willing to donate yard space with 1-3 neighbors who would like to learn organic gardening techniques. Ten percent of the produce from Yarducopia gardens is donated to local food banks.<\/p>\n

Nick Riordan, PhD, serves as our knowledgeable and enthusiastic Organic Gardening Coordinator. During the spring-summer season of 2021, the program added a part-time staff member, Mary-Ellen Garner, an experienced sustainable agriculture expert, and Jordan Ebert, an intern from the University of Alaska Environmental Sciences Department.<\/p>\n

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Yarducopia Bike Tour in July 2021<\/p><\/div>\n

Our summer canvass was a door-to-door canvass in two low-income neighborhoods in Anchorage, reaching out especially to Indigenous women, women of color and youth, to talk about food security needs and to recruit participants and volunteers for the Yarducopia program. We are informing people about opportunities to grow healthy food in their neighborhoods and to make use of community gardens and food banks that provide fresh produce. We hosted a series of organic gardening workshops in 2021, including the following:<\/p>\n