Governor Dunleavy Announces Office of Food Security – Mike Dunleavy

To protect the health and welfare of Alaskans, Governor Mike Dunleavy today signed Executive Order 338 to establish the Food Security Administration. Alaska currently imports 95% of her food supply, costing her $2 billion annually. As an isolated state with limited infrastructure and heavy reliance on imports, Alaska will improve local production, harvesting, food growth, and access to adequate supplies of nutritious and safe food. There is an obligation to increase, and AO 338 fulfills this obligation.

The Food Security Administration operates within the governor’s office and coordinates state efforts related to food security, serving as the first point of contact for agriculture, marine aquaculture, food processing, and other related matters, among many others. assumes the obligations and responsibilities of Industries. In addition, the Food Security Administration is responsible for producing marketing materials and presentations that describe the state’s food security initiatives and opportunities.

Governor Dunleavy announced the executive order via video this afternoon. Click here to view the announcement.

“Like many other Alaskans, I enjoy filling my freezer with wild fish and game, but I also recognize that not all Alaskans have a way to meet that need.” imports about 95% of its food supply, but the overall smooth functioning of its global logistics and just-in-time systems has largely masked this vulnerability for the last few decades. changed all of that and changed my thinking about what must be done to build a safe food system in Alaska,” said Governor Dunleavy. “We created the Food Security Task Force. We are working to open up more land for agriculture and increase investment in marine aquaculture. We are working to identify and remove barriers to food security, and today signed an executive order creating a Food Security Administration within the governor’s office to further this important objective.”

The Food Security Administration has three goals:

1. Identify resources and set policies to build a strong, sustainable, and healthy food system within the state to ensure food security for all Alaskans.
2. Improve access, availability, affordability and quality of food for all Alaskans.When
3. Identify or expand state economic opportunities in food production, food processing, and food distribution businesses.
The Governor’s Office will use existing personnel and funding to implement this order and launch the Food Security Administration.

Background:
Earlier this year, Governor Dunleavy signed AO 334 to establish the Alaska Food Security and Independence Task Force in response to two years of supply chain disruptions from the COVID pandemic.

A 20-member task force is charged with making recommendations on how to increase food production and harvests of all types in Alaska, removing legal and regulatory barriers that prevent the state from achieving greater food security. responsible for identifying The task force will begin work this spring and will submit its recommendations to Governor Dunleavy this fall.