Emergency Management Magazine recently published an article discussing the unique challenges faced by Alaska as the state works to strengthen its emergency food system.

Alaska faces many challenges specific to the state in developing an emergency food system. For example, many of the towns in the state are isolated, not even accessible by roads, or else accessible by bridges which could easily be destroyed in a natural disaster. In addition, the state imports much of its food, 90% of which passes through a single port in Anchorage.

For these reasons, even as the state government works to build up emergency food supplies, local communities are working to strengthen their own food security. “If the question is, how can we make Alaska more prepared, particularly around food for emergencies, my answer would be, we have to build a stronger, more resilient local food system,” explains Danny Consenstein, the executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Alaska.

The article can be found here.