In Alaska, the food vote is especially important

Twice a week, ships from each of Alaska’s two ocean carriers arrive in Anchorage after a days-long journey from Washington state. They carry most of the food Alaskans buy at the grocery store on the road system and beyond. A dizzyingly complex network of boats, trucks and planes then carries food step by step from Anchorage into the vast reaches of the state. At the same time, other ships are heading to Southeast and to the Aleutians, trucks are coming up the Alaska Highway and planes are flying directly from Outside. All carrying the store-bought food we eat.

Every Alaskan eats. The people we elect this November will help shape our food systems — how our food gets here, what it costs and who can reach it. That’s why the Alaska Food Policy Council built an informational resource to help Alaskans see the roles elected officials play in our food systems. We are nonpartisan organizations, and we take no positions on candidates or ballot measures.

Alaska’s food systems are unusually vulnerable. You’ve probably heard the figure that 95% of the food we purchase is imported. No one has hard numbers, but no one disputes the basic premise. We do know our grocery stores only carry three to five days of food at a time. Disruptions from bad weather, ice, natural disasters, or mechanical issues happen regularly — we’ve all experienced empty shelves. Food insecurity is commonplace across the state and heightened in rural areas. And groceries cost more, too: A cart of basic groceries that costs $45 in Washington D.C., costs $55 in Anchorage, $75 in Nome and $109 in Iliamna, according to 2025 grocery cart project results. 

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Image credit: Pixabay

Help Prevent Roadless Rule Protections Removal!

August 24, 2026

We were disappointed to learn last week that the USDA is moving forward with its plans to remove Roadless Rule protections for more than 9 MILLION acres of the Tongass National Forest, opening it up to destructive industrial logging and road construction. This decision endangers Southeast Alaska’s sustainable fisheries and the thousands of fishermen and businesses that depend on it.

In a press statement with Salmon State, Uncruise, and The Boat Company, ALFA executive director Linda Behnken said:

"Fisheries support the economy, culture, and Southeast Alaska way of life. And they do so sustainably, year after year, providing we take care of the forest, rivers and estuaries that the fish depend on. Compromising the fisheries, which annually contribute over $800 million in economic impact to this rural region, for short-term timber extraction funded by the federal government is an unthinkable trade off.”

View full press release here.

Rep. Kevin McCabe: Are We Fishing, or Are We Mining

July 9, 2026
Kevin McCabe
Alaska Fish News

“Nobody attacks a mine by talking about what is extracted.

When Alaskans argue about Pebble, we don’t argue about ounces of copper, finite as it is. We argue about the streams, the headwaters, the salmon downstream. The extracted thing isn’t the point. The place it comes out of is the point.”

Read the full article here.

A clear path forward for Alaska — and the next administration

August 24, 2026
Dan Ortiz
Juneau Independent

”About three weeks ago, Dunleavy administration officials — ADF&G and DEC Commissioners Doug Vincent-Lang and Randy Bates, along with DNR deputy commissioner Brent Goodrum — recently co-authored an opinion piece in the Juneau Independent praising cleanup progress at Canada’s abandoned Tulsequah Chief Mine. That mine has been contaminating international waters flowing into Alaska since before Alaska became a state.

I understand why they’re encouraged. But I also know this issue better than a press release. When it comes to the Tulsequah Chief, it isn’t over until it’s over. Alaska has been receiving promises for years — dating back to the early 2000s—and too often we see progress measured in statements instead of actual cleanup outcomes that protect Alaska’s communities, fisheries, and wild salmon.”

Read the full article here.

Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association Endorses Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for Governor

SITKA, AK - The board of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) voted this week to endorse Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (JKT) for governor of Alaska.

“Endorsing a political candidate is a rare move for our organization,” said Linda Behnken, Executive Director of ALFA.  “This year we are taking a stand because all our fishermen recognize the need for real change in management of Alaska’s fisheries and our board is united in support of JKT.”

“JKT recognizes the value of Alaska’s fisheries and has repeatedly worked both behind the scenes and in political forums to promote our industry and Alaska’s working waterfronts,” said Behnken. “JKT is a problem solver, a coalition builder, and unswervingly committed to reducing bycatch and its impacts on Alaska’s fish, fisheries and fishing communities.  He is the governor Alaska needs.”

JKT understands Alaska’s fisheries, communities, and the need for balanced and sustainable management. He has been a champion of small boat commercial fishermen for over a decade, in and out of the legislature. JKT served as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives Fisheries Committee for 10 years, was engaged in the North Pacific Fishery Management Council advocating for Alaska’s interests and served on the board of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust. JKT has fished commercially and grew up in a fishing community.

Trawl bycatch and habitat impacts have been widely discussed this political season, but JKT will follow through on his commitments to get Alaska’s fisheries back on track.  JKT has earned the trust of ALFA’s executive board of Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

“Commercial fishing is the backbone of coastal Alaska. I represented commercial fishermen for a decade in the legislature, and ALFA’s endorsement means a tremendous amount to me personally,” said Kreiss-Tomkins. “As governor, my administration will stand up for Alaska’s small-boat commercial fishermen and the coastal communities that depend on them. I will nominate members to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council who support reducing bycatch, who will make sure Alaska communities and Alaskans benefit from our tremendous fisheries resource. ALFA has been a leader on these issues, and I am grateful for their support. I encourage all fishermen to get out and vote in the primary election on August 18.”

Protect Alaska fisheries from offshore drilling

Linda Behnken
6/24/2026
Alaska Beacon

“Alaska and fisheries are intrinsically linked, both economically and culturally. Alaska’s fisheries provide for communities and rural economies across the state—and they will do so sustainably, year after year, provided we take care of the ocean and rivers that support them. 

That is why Alaska should be excluded from the federal government’s latest plan for offshore drilling, called the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, or Five-Year Plan. It would open almost all of Alaska’s coasts to drilling and the oil spills that inevitably follow.”

Read the full article here.

Opinion: Gov. Dunleavy does not speak for me on Alaska’s fisheries

Anchorage Daily News
6/24/2026
Linda Behnken

“I am a commercial fisherman from Sitka and have fished in Alaska every season for more than 40 years. I have fished waters from Dixon Entrance to Unalaska Island. I cannot stay quiet after listening to Gov. Mike Dunleavy claim during recent remarks at the White House that he speaks on behalf of Alaska’s commercial fishermen and women in calling for deregulation of our nation’s fisheries.”

Read the full article here.