Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** alaska currently imports 95 percent…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** alaska currently imports 95 percent of its food supplies at a cost of $2 billion per year. The global pandemic triggered food supply chain disruptions on the west coast of the united states that continue to impact the regular delivery of food and other essential goods to alaska. The state is working to increase regional and local food production to ease food security concerns, promote economic development in isolated and economically disadvantaged villages, and to replace dwindling subsistence food resources due to climate change and resource depletion.alaska has the range and forage resources to produce substantial quantities of red meat through the production of reindeer and bison, which are livestock commodities in great demand and commanding a high price. Management issues associated with the processing of reindeer and bison meat were identified as a target need area during consultation with regional technical experts, including alaska's office of the state veterinarian. The university of alaska fairbanks (UAF) college of rural and community development (crcd) branch campus of the northwest (NWC) in nome will partner with the UAF cooperative extension service (CES) in fairbanks to train students in managing small-scale processing plants or mobile processing units serving specialized communities. Together, the NWC and CES are strategically located to maximize impact on food security and sovereignty across a large part of alaska in the collaborativeproject, indigenous meat production in the 21ST century: feeding our people, feeding the state (IMP).through NWC and CES collaboration, community stakeholders will identify issues affecting meat to market and determine place-based solutions to inform course/curriculum development in hlrm. The enhanced hlrm program will serve as a model for the interior region of alaska, with a focus on business management of meat processing, methods/safety standards and experiential learning in a mobile slaughtering unit (MSU) with the goal to provide the interior alaska region with an MSU through CES in delta junction. The offering of an hlrm occupational endorsement and certificate extends the accessibility of food sovereignty programs focused on indigenous lifeways, wellness, decision-making power and management to students in the northwest region and throughout the state. Reindeer owners economically benefit through the program focused on their processing, husbandry and entrepreneurship needs and priorities to run successful businesses.overall impact is increased implementation of effective management and meat processing methods in the targeted industries, which will contribute to improved viability and profitability of reindeer and bison meat processing businesses across the northwest and interior alaska.