Continued support from fishermen, processors, freight and cold storage partners and financial donors allowed the nonprofit Washington-state based SeaShare to distribute eight million servings of high- quality seafood in 2020 and some five million servings so far this year.
With fishing communities in Alaska hard hit by the pandemic and other factors, particularly in Western Alaska, SeaShare aided in delivering 49,000 pounds of king and chum salmon to Yukon River villages this summer and fall as well as 6,000 pounds of chums to other villages below the Yukon and 150,000 pounds of salmon, Pollock and Pacific cod statewide.
In the continental United States, SeaShare has been able to donate additional volumes of seafood, thanks to projects supported by corporate and foundation partners. SeaShare Executive Director Jim Harmon said the At-Sea Processors Association maintained its annual donation of wild Alaska Pollock, which has been processed into servings on both coasts.
Emergency grants were used to access 16 truckloads of retail-type seafood servings. Year-to-date, SeaShare has distributed over one million pounds of seafood to food banks in 18 states, the nonprofit has said.
Harmon, who said SeaShare has leveraged several large grants over the past year to access four million additional servings of seafood for food banks nationwide, added that SeaShare is always interested to hear new ideas for additional collaboration.
More information about their operations and how to collaborate with them is available at www.seashare.org.