Local leaders hope to grow more food – by lowering taxes – in a fight against food insecurity

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – With food insecurity plaguing swathes of Anchorage, in a state largely reliant on food imports, some local leaders and organizations are hoping to incentivize gardening, urban agriculture and permaculture throughout Anchorage.

AO 2025-62 is sponsored by Anchorage Assembly Member George Martinez, who said he grew up in a “food desert”. Martinez wants to increase the amount of locally grown sustenance to address the needs of those living in food deserts in Alaska’s largest city.

“Anchorage is one of the most food insecure places in the United States of America,” Martinez said.

“We receive 95% of all of our food through import. So, the conversation of food security and our local resiliency is a critical conversation that we all should be having.”

The ordinance would define “farming activity” as “raising and harvesting crops; feeding, breeding, and managing livestock; dairying; propagating, farming, or cultivating an aquatic farm product as defined in AS 16.40.199; or any 23 combinations of those activities.”

Under that definition, private property used for farming activity would be eligible for a tax exemption, if the owners or leases sell at least $2,500 of agricultural products in the calendar year and file for an exemption with the IRS.

”In total, we’re talking about up to 50% tax reduction on the property,” Martinez said.

“It’s never going to be zero property taxes, but it’s up to [50%], based on the certain amount of food you can produce.”

In places designated as food deserts, property owners would also get a bonus 10% exemption, up to a total of 60%. Martinez said the assembly is still awaiting an economic report, but that if 200-500 families took part in the incentive, the fiscal impact on the municipality would be less than 1%.

It’s something that Martinez has had his eye on long before the closure of the Carrs on Gambell Street, but due to that the “timing is perfect,” he said.

“When you see a supermarket closing in a neighborhood that is already food insecure – even more than the city itself – and then it shuts down,” Martinez said. “And it prompts these questions about how do those working families have access to reliable food.”

Martinez said he has worked with several community organizations, like Anchor Gardens and Yarducopia, who have helped outline what urban agriculture can look like.

Lindsey Hajduk is the Director of Community Engagement at NeighborWorks Alaska, Anchor Garden’s fiscal sponsor. Hajduk says an incentive would really help grow the Anchor Garden network.

Right now, they run two community gardens, and Hajduk said it’s hard to quantify, but estimates they impact around 500 gardens throughout the municipality.

“We’ve been really fortunate to have private property owners who have offered this without that type of an incentive,” Hajduk said. “And we think that the number will just grow even further, which will help us achieve our vision of having a community garden in every single neighborhood throughout Anchorage.”

The name “Anchor Gardens” is not only a play on the city’s name but designates the garden’s status as an “anchor” in the community for local residents to use.

Hajduk said the idea is partially inspired by the victory gardens of World Wars I and II.

“Being able to grow locally gives us that independence, but it also gives us a tool to transform our neighborhoods and recognize that sometimes building takes a long time,” Hajduk said.

“And so, if a lot is vacant or there’s an empty patch on someone’s lawn, you can turn it into something productive that not only produces food, but it also brings your neighbors together.”

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