Leaving her corporate marketing job, Jenn Brown first came to Ketchikan in 2016 to work as a private chef on a yacht. She quickly developed an appreciation for the abundance of harvestable foods from the land and sea.

Noticing an interest in locally harvested foods but a lack of available products, Jenn founded Foraged & Found in 2017. She put her expertise to work developing familiar foods like salsas, pickles, and sauces, incorporating bull kelp as the main ingredient. "My culinary creativity started to take over," Jenn says. "What can I do to put this more unusual ingredient into food products that aren't necessarily so intimidating?"

Jenn has become an advocate for the responsible harvesting and cultivation of Alaska's mariculture. As president of Ketchikan Agricultural Producers Association, she is working to increase food security and help make locally harvested and wild caught foods more accessible to our community.

"There are no ice making facilities or cold storages in Ketchikan for independent fishermen and harvesters," Jenn says. "Locals need a place to process foods such as shrimp, salmon, and seaweed so they can sell their products directly to customers."