Blueberries, Cottongrass and Kids Meals

Travel Blog to Bethel by Gillian McPherson, Food Bank of Alaska's Child Nutrition Manager.

This past week, I had the opportunity to hop on a plane and visit a new destination: Bethel, Alaska.

The goal of this trip was to connect with partners, visit one of our Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites, and gather community feedback about our new Meals to You (MTY) program.

Needless to say, the need in Bethel is great. All schools in the Bethel School District operate under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which means they serve high-poverty communities where a significant percentage of households are enrolled in SNAP or other federal assistance programs.

The flight into Bethel offered stunning views of Denali and the vast Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta—a land scattered with lakes and long riverways. In this region, traveling in and out of town is no easy feat. Boat ownership, needed for summer activities like berry picking and subsistence harvesting, is becoming out of reach for many. Gasoline prices exceeding $6 per gallon and costly engine maintenance have made boat travel increasingly difficult.As the Child Nutrition Manager at Food Bank of Alaska, I oversee all our child nutrition programs. During the summer, we run two key initiatives: the Meals to You non-congregate meal box program and the traditional Summer Food Service Program.

The community of Bethel participates in both programs. Over 700 children—out of a population of just over 6,300—are enrolled in Meals to You. But still, some children did not sign up for MTY and suffer from food insecurity. To help close this gap, the Food Bank of Alaska sponsors a traditional SFSP site at Owl Park, where volunteers serve shelf-stable meals to any child who stops by. With its playground and pavilion, Owl Park is an ideal place to host meals for children during the summer.

Our dedicated site volunteers know the children by name and provide a warm, welcoming presence—even outdoors. You can often hear the children approaching before you see them, their bikes echoing with the sound of plastic water bottles striking their wheels and sounding like two-stroke engines.

During our visit, we also had the chance to meet with the Food Service Manager of the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD). She has been instrumental in helping implement the MTY program, which is now in its second demonstration year. We learned that the school district spent nearly $1 million last year shipping food across its service area—an enormous region spanning 22,000 square miles, roughly the size of West Virginia. One of their biggest ongoing challenges is staff retention and maintaining program consistency across such a vast area.

This district representative goes above and beyond in her service. In the winter, she runs a dinner club out of her church, providing meals to anyone who walks through the doors. Until now, the food has been donated by the congregation and other community members. We hope to support this vital program through the TEFAP program in the near future.

Although these trips are typically packed with activity, our Food Bank team was able to carve out a few moments to enjoy the natural beauty of Bethel. We walked through Pinky Park and along the boardwalk in the center of town, enjoying the fresh blueberries and the sight of cotton grass swaying in the breeze.

Cotton grass is one of my favorite Alaskan plant species. With its slender, grass-like blades and fluffy, cotton-like seed heads, it thrives in wet, boggy environments. Alaska Natives have used this plant for generations—for candle wicks, pillow stuffing, wound dressings, and even medicine. I admire how something so delicate can survive in such a harsh environment, unprotected from the wind or weather.

The people of Bethel remind me of this grass—resilient and adaptable. Like cotton grass, they bend with the seasons and challenges, but continue to stand tall, rooted in strength and tradition.

I learned so much during my time in Bethel and am already looking forward to the opportunity to return and continue building relationships in this incredible community.

- Gillian