Update from Rural Alaska.
Wow!! It’s been so busy here in Nunam. I am SO far behind on my updates. Here’s a “catch up” update for the past week.
Nunam Iqua Food Drive has received nearly 900 lbs of food and supplies this past week. The boxes came from:
JB Bush (donation order)
8 cases of diapers, 2 cases minute rice, and 2 boxes with noodles, creamer etc.
1 box from Park City , UT
1 box from Seattle , WA
3 box from Loma Linda , CA
1 box from Virginia
1 box from Sterling , AK
3 boxes from Sugarloaf, CA
3 boxes from Petaluma , CA
5 boxes from Washington DC
2 boxes from Wrangell , AK
2 boxes from Coeur d’Alene , ID
4 boxes from Norman , OK
1 box from River Junction, MI
1 box from Portland , OR
5 boxes from Overland , MO
1 box from Eden Prairie , MN
1 box from Nashville , TN
2 boxes from Rochester , NY
2 boxes from Sebastopol , CA
1 box with 240 cups of coffee from Clockwork Commerce, Medford , MA
4 boxes of (3)frozen vegetables and (1)fresh wheat bread from SPAN AK from a generous soul in Valrico, FL who paid nearly an extra $150 for air freight costs to get them here to Nunam. QUYANA D.P.!!! I called D.P. since I had the phone number on the invoice from SPAN and had a wonderful conversation!! It was the first time ever D.P. had received a phone call from Alaska.
Whew, seeing the list like that makes me tired!! We sorted and distributed all of those to 45 families over this past week.
I also received a total of $140 for gas for my snow machine from the following:
Woodland Hills , CA
Sonoma , CA
Lewiston , ID
Bronx , NY
Ferndale , WA
Quyana Cakneq for the $$ but it’s not necessary, really! Hubby and I are more than happy to provide gas to deliver food to our needy. So don’t be mad but I used it to get my Aunt’s house 15 gallons of stove oil since we are running up their heating bill by going in and out of the house bringing in boxes and sorting and packing bags and then hauling them all back out to deliver them.
We have been having incredible weather this past week. Blizzard one day, nice the next, or well part of the next day then blizzard again. White out conditions many times, making it impossible to go anywhere, let alone any planes being able to make it in.
Next on the agenda…
I have adopted another village: Alakanuk. They asked me to help them get a food/fuel drive started for their needy/elderly. If you will recall I mentioned Alakanuk in my “Shopping Day” story. If you would like to help please click HERE.
Next to lastly (LOL), thank you everyone for all your get well wishes on the blogs and emails for CC. She is very much recovered!! You can see a picture of her testing her new sled above. You can see pictures of Nunam Iqua and other pictures that I am putting up on my diary HERE.
Ok now lastly.. I would again like to formally invite all of you PJ clad (or however clad hee hee) Mudpups and anonymous bloggers to help us find long term solutions to the problems facing rural Alaska . Please join the discussion HERE.
Quyana Cakneq Mudpups and Anonymous Bloggers for all of your help and support during these tough times!!
Sincerely,
Ann Strongheart
Nunam Iqua Food Drive
c/o Ann Strongheart
P.O. Box 7
Nunam Iqua , AK 99666
nunamiquayouth@yahoo.com
Yay! Great update! and I seriously doubt anyone would have an issue with you using your gas money for other things. Your judgment is something we can definitely count on being true.
Good luck with the new village.
Thanks for the update. I wonder if someone could explain the logistics of sending packages to rural Alaska ..Flat rate and bypass rate.
Would it make any sense to send donations to a site in Alaska and have shoppers there buy and ship provisions from within the state?
It might make it easier for more people to help if they can donate money to a group that is managing the procurement and shipping of goods.
I clicked on the link at Mudflats and it seems to be all about collecting food, not cash to buy food.
So thats a suggestion. Hopefully it will increase then number of donations you’re getting, and make things better.
Good luck.
Very off topic I know and I apologize to Ann but this is great news from Defenders of Wildlife.
“Last Thursday, the Senate rejected an attempt by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski to strip language from the omnibus spending bill that would help restore vital protections for polar bears and hundreds of other species protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The Senate last night passed the omnibus bill — including the provisions in the bill to reverse the Bush Administration’s assault on the Endangered Species Act that Senator Murkowski had sought to remove. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law later today.”
Thanks for the update, Ann. I second using your judgement for best use of $$ received. Loved the pic of CC, she is a real cutie pie.
Thanks for the update Ann…keeps us all involved. And it’s always great to see that our boxes are arriving! Glad to hear CC is feeling better! Take care and stay warm.
DrChillNo Gravatar (06:08:29) :
Thanks for the update. I wonder if someone could explain the logistics of sending packages to rural Alaska ..Flat rate and bypass rate.
——
About those flat rate boxes…Some of the folks here figured out that they could jam a bunch of stuff into those boxes and have it cost less than the same amount sent through one of the Alaska systems, because Alaska stuff has to go through two rounds of high freight costs, one to get the stuff to Alaska, and another to get it to the villages. For small food donations, the flat rate boxes are a good deal. Too bad the PO is on the verge of raising postal rates, especially in Alaska. But it’s almost spring and maybe the cost won’t go up immediately, so people can keep helping via little boxes until the river thaws.
OT, but the river thaw comment reminded me…I was in Galena once, in mid or late June, when the Yukon was bank full. What a sight. I’ve never forgotten it (nor the drunk guy who gave me a ride to new Galena, or partway, because i asked if I could drive, after eying that big river just a few feet from the swerving truck).
@ Drchill
The link on the sidebar here at MF is the shopping list that the regional native corporation, Calista put out in the very beginning for food drop offs which the corporation then sent to the villages (Emmonak and ??). If you go to http://anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/how-to-help/ there is a LONG list of different ways to help. It’s getting so busy over there that the web elves are working on organization to make things easier. Anyone can PM me in the forum if you would like some specific info.
YES, you can order from JB Bush in Anchorage, and they will shop at Costco and send goods out. You give them the list of items, the address of the family or village, and they charge actual cost of goods + shipping and add 17% for shopping. You can also use the Food Bank in Anchorage, or Span Alaska (but they ship from WA state so it’s slower to get there).
Bypass mail is basically parcel post: This is how Span Alaska ships orders, and sometimes JB Bush to bring down costs of shipping.
http://www.thetundradrums.com/news/show/5066
We send flat rate boxes because WE don’t pay by weight (up to 70lbs) and I’m sure the carriers to the bush LOVE that because the PO DOES pay them by weight! Feel free to PM me!
Ann – CC the purple monkey on her new sled – to die for! We have so much snow in Juneau this year that I’m thinking of asking your hubby to make one for me, too! We can’t use our driveway in the winter because it slopes down to the house, so we just shovel enough to make a long tunnel from the road that would be PERFECT for a sled! I’ll just put my groceries in my lap, and “luge” my way to the front porch!
The items you mentioned coming in, and the locations they are coming from, never cease to amaze me! How do we truly thank anonymous hearts? I think your updates go a long way in doing that – you make village life come alive for us, and your stories give us a context in which to understand and appreciate the impact we, and you are making in your little corner of the world. I love your updates! Thank you! Tell CC that I LOVE purple, too! It’s the best color there is.
Good morning, mudpups-
Thanks for the update, Ann. What a cutie- I hope CC enjoys her new sled.
@Dr. Chill-
I don’t know about bypass rates, but I have been sending flat rate boxes. I fill them with the heaviest stuff- dried fruit, nuts, flour (wrapped in plastic gas, to avoid spills), and it only costs one fee, not by weight and location. I think the largest box is $13.95. I ordered big bulky stuff that doesn’t weigh as much- like toilet paper and diapers- from Span Alaska, or maybe ship a case I got from Costco.
Maybe there is someone/group in Anchorage or Juneau who might want to collect donations/take monies sent and buy items at a local Costco. Or at least check to see if it might be cheaper that way. Or is JB Bush the way to go? I know they don’t have an online catalogue…
Martha Unalaska Yard Sign (07:11:04) :
The items you mentioned coming in, and the locations they are coming from, never cease to amaze me! How do we truly thank anonymous hearts?
__________________________________________
I thought about that, too- and I have an idea. What about a tee shirt or a hat: Brian on the front of the tee, and on the back “I blog in my pjs and support the AK Villages” (not very clever, maybe someone else can do better) and list the villages we have supported?
Perhaps profits could be send on to Ann or Victoria…
Did I see a company name under the donations? I have been thinking about this for awhile, just thought it was silly, but then I remembered they probably can take it off their taxes if they donate? It is like that in Germany.
Can we write to companies and ask them to contribute food?
Who has tried this already (and I bet someone amongst the busy mudpups has)?
This under short term solutions.
Forgot to add… getting a box ready for Alakanuk! I looked up the village to find the English translation for its name:
“Alakanuk is a Yup’ik word meaning “wrong way,” aptly applied to a village on this maze of watercourses. It is located at the east entrance of Alakanuk Pass, the major southern channel of the Yukon River, 15 miles from the Bering Sea.”
@ lettersfromeurope
“Can we write to companies and ask them to contribute food?”
YES! Companies can deduct contributions if they so desire. Jane, the webmaster of anonymousbloggers was successful in finding a company who donated a HUGE amount of coffee!
@Martha Unalaska
GOOD to know!! Yep, it was that coffee box that made me wonder if companies can donate and take it off taxes in the USA too (and how about the free PR!!).
Enjoy the coffee Ann and Friends!
(As she wonders if companies here in Germany would play along. “Fragen kostet nichts”, no charge for asking.)
YEAH for you Ann! You are my hero!!! So glad CC is better and that the food keeps on coming in. I am looking out the window at Spring springing around here, with crocus flowers and dafodils coming up all over, and pleasant temperatures here in VA, but I know the winter is still upon you and probably will be for quite a while longer. Now that the gov has gotten some cookies and a few paltry boxes passed out, I’m sure she feels it is enough, but we know better.
Dr Chill,
Bypass rates, I think, only work for very large orders, like in the hundreds of pounds.
So glad the word seems to be spreading. And CC looks very cute on her daddy-made and mommy-decorated sled. Purple is definitely her colour!
OT…the Star is reporting that Bristol and Levi split.
http://www.starmagazine.com/bristol_palin_levi_split/news/15341
Ann – Way to go !! OT: Since we’re talking about food – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/draft-palin-effort-begins_n_173832.html
Re: bypass mail description (a uniquely Alaskan bush subsidy program – hats off to Mr. Ted Stevens):
http://www.thearcticsounder.com/news/story/5064
” “While I recognize the Postal Service lost a significant amount of revenue last year, bypass mail is the lifeblood of rural Alaska,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a written statement to the media on Tuesday.
“It moves most of the consumable goods and has stabilized the cost of living in rural Alaska. We must find a way to keep the costs down while still providing the same level of service.”
Bypass mail is the unique Alaska bulk-mail program that helps hold down prices in rural stores and subsidizes air travel to scores of Bush communities.
The U.S. Postal Service proposal is scheduled to take effect May 11. Parcel post rates will rise nationally between 6 percent and 50 percent, depending on the size of the package, postal officials said.
Bypass is a subclass of parcel post — the slowest mail class. As a result, the bypass rates will increase the same amount that parcel post rates are increasing.
The Postal Service says it loses about $50 million a year to provide the service.
Under bypass, the Postal Service pays airlines to fly the bulk mail, which are often pallets of groceries and goods that will be sold at stores, such as soda pop, milk or bread. “
wes-ben – It was only a matter of time that “exclu$elive” $tory $tarted to come out………the first domino has fallen……..
Ann, I heard you on NPR yesterday and was unable to got to the ‘Flats to say so. The end of the report had a little about the Palin insult, but I at least got to hear the proper pronunciation of the village names I’ve read here! You are much tougher people than I am–I wimped out and took a cab in NYC when the wind chill was 30 below–it hurt my eyes too much!
FYI: the comments on the HuffPo draft palin post are funny!
Maybe I missed the by-pass mail explaination- skip if I did.
My understanding of it – you must ship a minimum of 1000 pounds and it goes space available.
The rates are going to KILL us – especially 4th class (Parcel Post) and by-pass.
Most everyone, when heading into a larger city, takes those rubbermaid totes- fills them with groceries and mails them home.
Also a number of companies serve as a bundler for us on groceries – so there goes that increase to.
(BTW- I am not sure where the RA got his math from on food price differences in cost BUT 75% is not even close to what I see – even when shopping at a regular grocery in ANC – more like 125-300% depending on the item!!)
The increases expected in May (now a yearly thing) are huge for the larger heavier rates- just the opposite of what it has always been.
Let’s hope the legislature (feds) are in their fighting for us or the bush will get even harder to support as a way of life,something we do by choice!
Victoria
OT OT OT OT
@ wes-ben
Don’t take this very seriously until you hear from a better source – there have been all SORTS of things attributed to Levi’s sister that have never been confirmed. Leave the gossip to the uninformed trolls who can’t spell or write – the truth will be revealed soon enough!
Brian on the front of the tee blogging in his PJ….how cute!
lettersfromeurope ::: how goes it? I was stationed in Frankfurt for about 3-yrs… will those companies want to ‘credit GINO, or would they be willing to ‘just sent’ the items….
nswfm CA – funny AND brutal !!!
You go girl!
SOMEWHAT OT -
By-catch for King/Chinooks are coming up as an issue before the regulatory NPFMC the end of the month, March 30 – April 7 in Anchorage.
The Y-K Delta food versus fuel crisis came into being in a large part because of a lack of a strong King/Chinook run this past year.
The pollack trawler by-catch numbers have soared since 2002 and the YK Delta run has shown smaller to the now almost collapse runs of this past year.
The are several ‘caps’ or limits on the number of Chinook trawlers will be able to catch before either fines or shut down proposed.
We NEED SUPPORT for the lowest cap of 30,000 fish. Please look in at the anonymousblogger.com – see the side treads listed on the right – look for ‘by-catch’ and join the posts.
If you feel this is not really that big of a deal – read
http://alaskareport(dot).com/news39/x71124 (underscore)seafood(underscore)players(dot)htm
Pay particular attention to the fourth paragraph of Shawn’s article.
This is NOT a discussion that needs to be fostered – “our lifestyle is more important than your lifestyle!!”
Help Ann and I to get the message across to the committee and trawlers that this attitude plays RIGHT INTO the “E” groups and will destroy AK fisheries if they continue it (think of the dolphin/tuna play years ago!!)
We will be posting updates and more info as quickly as we can of how to work on this issue.
Right now let us know your strength- leaves us a quick message so we have hard numbers to show them it will not be tolerated.
Thanks for all the support,
Victoria B
Pilot Point Food Drive
POB 449
Pilot Point, AK 99649
victoria@anonymousbloggers.com
A comment from huffpost…..HHAHHHHHHAAAAHHHHAAA, RE: Ginos name in the running for 2012….
“You guys held the meeting at the wrong place, Denny’s is the home of the Grand Slam…that was President Obama
The Sarah Palin brain-food meal the Rooti Tutti Fresh N Fruity is at IHOP.”
…this is on my laff list [it's growing, cause I'm still stuck on the poll from yesterday posting: AK # 1 for Swiners]
The good news is that the “Draft Palin” sheep ALL fit in a booth at Dennys……..too ba-a-a-ad.
New thread…
I worked a deal with Len Brault at Clockwork Commerce to ship the coffee sticks if i would buy them. He was glad to help out and it meant i could send a larger order of coffee. He even said he would toss in a couple of cans of milk in the last order for Ann (because she likes her coffee lighter than it comes in the stick).
Because i am a regular mail order customer of Len’s, i think all i had to do was ask and he was swift to say ‘Yes’.
what is a coffee stick?
Well, I’d say the Clockwork Commerce Coffee Co. got their money’s worth in advertising. Google “clockwork commerce coffee sticks” and the top five results are his company (where you can find out what those goshdarned things are) and then mudflats and anonymous bloggers (where you can find out that the Co. is doing good things in the world)!
So Len’s basically quadrupled their web presence by paying the shipping on some coffee – good karma and good idea to contact him, Tina in Tennessee!
And I don’t even drink coffee.
Each G7 coffee ‘stick’ weighs about .6oz and includes coffee, creamer and sugar. All i can say that i am shamelessly addicted.
I had to post a link to their shopping cart on our Buddy page of our website for our clients: http://www.reservationsbytcs.com/tcsbuddies.htm. Look for the Trung Nguyen (pronounced ‘choon wynn’) logo on the upper right hand side of the page.
Len at Clockwork was so quick to say he would help ~ i believe there are others out there like him. And if i got to where i couldn’t afford to buy the coffee in bulk, i believe he would send some, anyway.
She needs a fund raiser to buy a clue
thanks HuffPost
Like the site for discussion of long-term solutions, Great idea.
Thanks Ann for the update! Ann, I know you said the Villagers were getting overloaded with beans BUT I had a memory of when I used to grow bean sprouts 30yrs ago from just regular store brand bags. This might be a way to get you some fresh salad or stirfry veggies, while utilizing the beans. I posted over at Anon Bloggers, ‘get Vic to conference thread’, but I hope you don’t mind if I repost it here to make sure you see it:
- – -
# Kath the Scrappy from Seattle Says:
March 11, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Hey Victoria, hope you’re feeling better soon. I don’t know if you will have any free time, but one thing to check out when you’re there is if you might be able to scope out any deals on Bean Sprouter lids, I’m sure folks already have Mason jars.
I know there’s a desire for fresh veggies during the winter. This might be an easy way to grow your own in your kitchen. Also, I know Ann S. asked for people to stop mailing beans, but this would be a good way to use them.
Years ago I used to grow my own sprouts (particularly liked those from regular store bought bags of lentils because they have kind of a nutty like flavor. You can eat them like salad – or stirfry.
Here’s a Youtube I found, to show how easy plus how much they increase in size, as well as how valuable they are for nutrients:
How to Grow Bean Sprouts
(h*ttp://w*ww.youtube.com/watch?v=F-1V4vtV8Yo )
InterestedPerson Says:
March 11, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Several layers of cheese cloth held on with a rubber band worked just
fine when I was sprouting seed regularly.
# Kath the Scrappy from Seattle Says:
March 11, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Thanks Interested Person!
Thinking further about it too, that regular nylon mesh also would do the trick to let the air in while keeping the sproutlets from falling out.
So Ann, here’s a project to try next time you get snowed in. It didn’t take a bunch of sunlight, but I don’t think it could handle freezing in the kitchen window. lol