When Typhoon Halong forced residents out of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta in October, efforts to get subsistence/traditional foods for people who had been displaced began immediately. It has been several weeks, and those requests and donations for people in Anchorage have continued, guided by the understanding that the taste of home could comfort people living through the disaster.
“But we realized, you know, there wasn't something similar going on here in our own backyard, in the Y-K Delta for families who have evacuated to Bethel, but also families in other villages that were really impacted by the storm,” said Terese Vicente, the policy and programs director for the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
Vicente learned that the American Red Cross had donated chest freezers to some of the impacted villages, and she wanted to find out how the commission could help fill them. And it turned out other regional organizations were thinking about the same thing.
The food drive is in collaboration with Alaska Sea Grant, Bethel Community Services Foundation (BCSF), the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), and the City of Bethel. The initiative has also received support from the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund to help fund shipping materials.
Through this weekend and next week, a food drive in collaboration between local organizations is accepting subsistence donations dropped off in-person or shipped to Bethel. Then, the commission will distribute them, along with other pantry items purchased with donated funds, to families who have registered through the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s website.
Organizers are asking for anything harvested in 2025, including whitefish, seal, walrus, moose, ducks, seal oil, salmonberries, and blackberries. They say marine harvests have been especially requested and ask for foods that are individually packaged and not freezer-burned.
Robin Kenuraralria Masterman is one of the drive’s organizers.
“We understand, like, how difficult and how physically and financially intensive it can be to be able to harvest these kinds of foods,” Masterman said.
These foods are prized. They’ve been harvested and processed through hours of labor. All of that work was lost when the remnants of Typhoon Halong swept through. Families and households lost whole freezers full of subsistence foods.
“We just want to stress that we appreciate any kind of food donation, no matter how big or how how small it is,” Masterman said.
Vicente said that sharing harvested foods is part of the social fabric of the region – think proxy hunting and the Yup’ik tradition of giving away your first catch to others. She said that many people who live in the Y-K Delta have already been sharing their food stores with people who need help.
“So this effort is really to just support and enhance what's already happening organically, because it's part of the way of life out here in the Y-K Delta,” Vicente said.
Donations can be dropped off at the BCSF freezers at 1795 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway in Bethel. Collection will continue through the end of next week with windows on weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day. This Saturday, Dec. 6, drop off will be available between noon and 4 p.m.
Donors can also contact Vicente to set up another time outside of drop off hours to donate food.
Contact information and a full list of requested donation items can be found on the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's website.
