Food preservation education enhances food access and safety

Food preservation education enhances food access and safety

When foods are preserved, they provide an excellent source of nutritious food year-round for home gardeners. However, foods that are not preserved correctly can cause serious illness. Many people have a renewed interest in preserving their own foods, thanks to COVID-19, and can do safely with Extension education.

More than 3,300 people participated in home food preservation training provided by Extension educators in the Great Plains, Midwest and upper Midwest (Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin). They learned best practices and research-tested recipes. Preservation topics include fermentation, freezing, pickling, pressure canning and steam canning.

When the pandemic made face-to-face trainings unrealistic, University of Tennessee Extension staff offered 11, one-hour virtual food preservation courses. Some 240 people participated in the courses with 100% indicating that they had learned something new as a result of the sessions.

Website urls: https://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/search and https://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/search