Fisheries-to-School: A community based research project to improve food security in Alaska Native communities

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) emerged, in part, as a response to the need to improve food security among school children. The USDA defines food security as "access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life." Conceptualization of food security in Alaska Native communities-- also known as "traditional food security"-- goes beyond food access to encompass the rich socio-cultural history of Alaska Natives, and the state's unique geography and food resources. As currently implemented the NSLP is poorly contextualized and may not support traditional dietary patterns, which in many Alaska Native communities are the underpinning of diet quality and food security. The NSLP may therefore inadvertently serve to widen the disconnect that exists between school children and their local food system, which provides high quality, culturally important foods. The Fisheries-to-School program is a community-based participatory research project designed to increase food security and improve diet quality in Alaska Native communities while simultaneously strengthening local and regional markets for sustainably harvested fish by reconnecting school children with their local food system. In this presentation we will describe the process by which the Fisheries-to-Schools program was developed. We will also discuss its potential to increase food security, improve health, and support a more sustainable food system in one of the most disadvantaged regions in the nation while creating viability in local economies.