Levelock Village LFPA Plus Executive Summary

The Levelock Village Food Security and Sovereignty Program will provide funding for the purchase of locally produced foods from socially disadvantaged producers in Alaska. Levelock currently faces food security and sovereignty threats due to high food costs, procurement expenses, and environmental threats to traditional foods that make it challenging to bring food to this remote village. The funds will allow for food to be bought directly from local producers with whom the Village has developed partnerships, focusing on small, disadvantaged farms and indigenous producers. Producers in Levelock will also see the economic benefits of the program through salmon purchases. Salmon is a culturally important food, and the Tribes in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska are some of the last remaining villages that have diets based on sustainable salmon runs. Salmon is a highly important food for the nutrition of the Tribe, and the Levelock Food Program would help ensure that all Village residents are able to have sustainable Salmon available to them during the length of the program. The program will allow Levelock to provide marketing opportunities for local and regional indigenous producers, commercial fishermen, and underserved producers to partner with the village to continue the program LFPA funds are expended. It is estimated that the program will aim provide food to all current residents of the Village (estimated to be 50 people) with priority being elders, families with children under 12, and disabled individuals.