Kale’n Thyme opened in June 2020 in Cordova, Alaska. We were the first commercial farm in Cordova, and provided year-round lettuce, greens, and herbs to our community for nearly 2 years. Truly a labor of love, we cannot express the joy we felt, every day, bringing smiles and healthy food to your dinner tables. The support we received from this community has been absolutely amazing and humbling, but also proves the great need we have for fresh, locally-grown produce! Closing the farm has been a heartbreaking decision. We continue to look for a local buyer as our family transitions to another state.

Our mission was always to provide fresh, local produce to Cordova, and to pave a way for others who want to do the same for small, rural Alaskan towns where food security is so important and nutritious food (especially during winter months) has become a rare commodity. Alaskans deserve better!

Our vision isn’t for just one huge food producer here in town. We believe that the issues of food security and sustainability will be solved through a network of local, back-yard farms that can be operated on a year-round basis. This, however, will be a heavy lift given current electrical rates as they relate to food production. During our time on this project, we endeavored to work with our local electric company to help open a path for food producers within the community. After more than three years, there has been no progress made towards reducing the electrical cost for those wishing to commercially grow food, for and within our community. The good news is we think that the board is finally starting to listen.

Is this really the responsiblity of the electrical company, though? Certainly not directly, but the rates they set have a HUGE impact on year-round food production in Cordova. Since inception, our farm was subject to one of the highest rates of electricity because farming operations just don’t fit within any of the electrical cooperative’s current tariff definitions. As such, Kale’n Thyme paid nearly $18,000 for electricity during 2021, and those costs will be even higher this year due to inflation and the cost of diesel. Cordova needs farmers, and farmers need help, so we urge you to continue the conversation we have started; and work together towards a better future for this amazing community.

Kristy, Jose, and Ellie
Your Kale’n Thyme Family