2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Family and Consumer Sciences

Lori Johnson, UF/IFAS Extension, Lake County, Tavares, FL.

Situation: A rise in home food preservation resulted from the pandemic and food costs. Food safety is of concern due to 29% of botulism cases between 2001 and 2017 were from foods preserved at home (Luquez et. al., 2021). The intent of this program is to provide experiential learning to extend shelf life while improving safety of foods preserved at home.

Methods: The Family and Consumer Science Agent delivered 20 food preservation classes for adults between Fall of 2021 and Winter of 2023. Each focused on water bath or pressure canning and hands-on preparation of a preserved item. The program provided an overview of food preservation methods, food safety, and similar preserved items. The participants prepared dill pickles, pickled carrots, pickled green beans, salsa, apple preserves, harvest jam, salsa, or pressure canned carrots or green beans in the experience. Results: The 20 classes had a total of 187 participants. Paper surveys were utilized for the evaluation method and were entered into Qualtrics. Surveys were collected from 97% (181) of the participants. Eighty-eight percent (160) reported knowledge gain in food preservation methods, ninety-five percent (172) understanding the importance of headspace, ninety-three percent (168) the importance of using approved recipes, and eighty-eight percent (160) food safety practices when preserving food. A 3-month post program survey was sent to 84 program participants in 2022 and collected from 38 participants. Program participants adopted preservation practices at home including fifty-eight percent (22) water bath canning, twenty-six percent (10) pressure canning, seventy-one percent (27) checked headspace, seventy-six percent (29) followed approved recipes, and eighty-four percent (32) wasted less food by preserving food as a result of attending a food preservation class. Conclusion: Family and Consumer Science agents providing hands-on educational canning opportunities allows participants to preserve with confidence by learning the science and practicing food safety.

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