Posts Tagged: Master Food Preserver Program
SAREP Grant: Expanding Education to Underserved Communities through UCANR Programs: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Master Gardener Program, and Master Food Preserver Program
Five groups of parents participated in a series of workshops from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), Master Gardener (MG) and Master Food Preserver (MFP) Programs. The series was part of a grant for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). Twelve workshops per group were provided at the Victor Elementary School District Parent Resource Center (VESD) and Middle College High School. Four of the five groups conducted workshops in Spanish to reach under-served communities in San Bernardino County. Kits provided an opportunity to practice skills alongside the educators during workshops or afterward in their homes.
The EFNEP workshops consisted of a series of 9 lessons including topics such as reading the food label, food safety, MyPlate, stretching the food dollar, importance of exercise, limiting salt, sugar and fat. A kit provided ingredients to prepare Cowboy Caviar and Apple Salad recipes. The in person workshop included a live demonstration and kits to prepare Apple Salad. Virtual workshops included live food demonstration via Zoom while parents made the recipes in their homes. Graduates of the EFNEP program (n=37) received a cookbook and certificate of graduation.
MFP and MG workshops followed the EFNEP program alternating each week. Victor Elementary School District held an in person hands on activity making three tiered herb gardens. Participants received pots, soil, seeds, transplants and cuttings during the workshop. All participants went home with their new garden and tips on maintenance. The workshop was repeated virtually for the Middle College High School parents and VESD via Zoom. Parents received kits at their school sites and watched the live demonstration with time for questions at the end. The last MG workshop was Growing Cool/Warm Season Vegetables. Parents learned how to care for vegetables and which grew best in their home climate of the high desert or city of San Bernardino. They were given a binder with information about growing and maintaining vegetables, a pot, Popsicle sticks and a sharpie to label their vegetables, seeds for carrots, peas and radishes, and tote bag.
The Master Food Preserver program provided two workshops for parents. Each workshop emphasized food safety importance including proper storage of food, sanitation and hand washing. The first workshop, refrigerator pickling included a live demonstration walking parents through the entire process. Parents were given a kit containing carrots, jalapenos, garlic, pickling salt and spices, a container, a bottle of vinegar and the recipe to take home to replicate the demonstration. Options were provided to create the recipe either sweet or salty depending on preference. The next workshop consisted of making mixed berry freezer jam. The kit included a bag of frozen mixed berries, a container, sugar, pectin and recipe. Volunteers walked parents through the process and they took home their homemade jam.
All workshops reinforced food safety, saving money when food shopping, growing and preserving food. These topics addressed food insecurity, which is something families in San Bernardino struggle with. Parents were excited to participate in all workshops and share photos of making and growing food at home. Parents who attended all twelve workshops received a certificate of completion (n=18).
“I definitely enjoyed the nutrition classes and additional workshops. At my age, you reminded me the importance of building muscle and maintaining strong bones. I try to read the nutrition labels and have added more water to my diet. In addition, I have tried to implement certain habits to my daughters. I am also happy to report that two of my plants are still alive -lol. Not bad, I think. However, the sun and heat make it hard. I can go on... but I honestly enjoyed being a part of your class and workshops. I even shared your link with one of my cousins. The one with the jam and other tutorials.” – Participant
“I enjoyed the workshops very much! It was nice to receive all the information instead of having to look for it and being able to ask questions and of course, I loved the supplies that were provided. It made everything a lot easier!”
- Participant
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Expanding Education to Underserved Communities through UCANR Programs: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Master Gardener Program, and Master Food Preserver Program
UCCE San Bernardino County received a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program (SAREP) to provide education to at risk communities in San Bernardino County. The grant began June 2021 and will continue through May 2022. Two groups of parents were a part of the three program collaboration consisting of a series of workshops from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) , Master Gardener (MG) and Master Food Preserver (MFP) Programs. Twelve lessons in total were provided at the Victor Elementary School District Parent Resource Center and via Zoom for Middle College High School parents. All workshops were conducted in Spanish to help reach the underserved population in San Bernardino County. Kits were provided during the workshops to give the participants opportunities to practice along with the educator or prepare on their own at home.
The EFNEP workshops consisted of a series of 8 lessons including topics such as reading the nutrition facts label, food safety, MyPlate, stretching the food dollar, importance of exercise, limiting salt, sugar and fat. Parents were given a kit with ingredients to prepare Cowboy Caviar and Apple Salad recipes. At the parent center, the educator provided a live demonstration and sent kits home with parents to make their own apple salad. The educator conducted another food demonstration via Zoom while parents made the recipes in their homes. One mother added additional vegetables she had in her refrigerator to the Cowboy Caviar and reported her family loved the meal she served for dinner that evening. Graduates of the EFNEP program received a cookbook and certificate of graduation.
The EFNEP workshops were followed by the MFP and MG workshops alternating each week. Victor Elementary School District held an in person hands on activity making three tiered herb gardens. Participants received pots, soil, seeds, transplants and cuttings during the hands on workshop. All participants went home with their new garden and tips on maintaining it. This workshop was repeated for the Middle College High School parents along with those that were not able to attend VESD via Zoom. Parents received kits at their school sites and watched the live demonstration with time for questions at the end. The last MG workshop was Growing Cool Season Vegetables. Parents learned which vegetables were best to grow in the high desert climate and how to care for them in the process. They were given a binder with information about growing and maintaining vegetables, a pot, Popsicle sticks and a sharpie to label their vegetables, seeds for carrots, peas and radishes, and tote bag.
The Master Food Preserver program also provided two workshops for the parents. Each workshop emphasized the importance of food safety including proper storage of food, sanitation and hand washing. The first was refrigerator pickling. The volunteers conducted a live demonstration walking parents through the entire process. Parents were given a kit to take home. The kit included carrots, jalapenos, garlic, pickling salt and spices, a container, a bottle of vinegar and the recipe. They were given options to create the recipe either sweet or salty depending on preference. The next workshop was a hands on activity making freezer jam with mixed berries. The volunteers walked parents through the process. Each participate was given a bag of frozen mixed berries, a container, sugar, and pectin. They took home their homemade jam along with the recipe.
All workshops reinforced concepts of food safety, saving money by shopping on sale as well as growing and preserving your own food. This addressed the area of food insecurity which is something that families in San Bernardino struggle with. Parents were excited to participate in all workshops and share photos of making and growing their food at home. Parents who attended all twelve workshops received a certificate of completion. These activities will continue throughout the year reaching more families in San Bernadino County.
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Giving Back to EFNEP Teachers
Teachers from Juanita Blakely Jones Elementary School in the San Bernardino City Unified School District have been a part of the EFNEP program for many years. This year, 1st and 2nd grade teachers participated in the new virtual youth EFNEP program. The first grade students learned about the importance of taking care of your body by eating healthy, sleeping and being physically active from the My Amazing Body curriculum. The second graders learned about healthy snacking, the importance of breakfast, food safety and exercise from the Good For You and Me curriculum. Students and their teachers met live via Google Meets with their nutrition educator each week for 6 weeks. Fillable PDFs and Google Forms were available for all students via Google Classroom to complete worksheets and evaluations. The lessons started with a storybook reading related to the lesson topic, followed by interactive virtual games and a nutrition lesson. The final lesson topic included proper hand washing, which will be an important skill to know as students return to in person learning.
To show appreciation for their dedication to improving the health of all students, teachers were invited to participate in a freezer jam and seed paper making workshop provided by UCCE's Master Food Preserve and Master Gardener Programs. Kits were provided to teachers ahead of time to enable them to participate during the live demonstration. The freezer jam kit included a container, pectin and the jam recipe. Teachers were encouraged to provide their favorite fresh or frozen berries to use as they followed along. The workshop started with the Master Food Preserver Coordinator demonstrating the jam making process while incorporating important food safety, hand washing and storage techniques. Jam making was followed by seed paper making. The Master Gardener Coordinator provided a kit including a basket, screens, and sponges for teachers to follow along. This fun craft was a perfect gift or could be planted in their garden.
UCCE San Bernardino is looking forward to another workshop for teachers in the spring!
L6 Dalila 6 Handwashing
Mixed Berry Freezer Jam 1
Mixing Sugar Fruit Pectin
Pressing Seed Paper
Straining Seed Paper Pulp
Seed Paper Technique
Demand grows for UC Master Food Preserver classes
Although UC Cooperative Extension started offering the program in a few counties in the 1980s, its parent organization UC Agriculture and Natural Resources recently designated it as a statewide Master Food Preserver Program.
UC Master Food Preservers are volunteers who teach people in their communities about food safety and how to preserve food. Certification entails about 50 hours of instruction and a commitment to volunteer service to the program.
In the fall, UC Cooperative Extension held a course to train and certify UC Master Food Preservers in Los Angeles.
“I had 86 applicants for 18 spots,” said Drusilla Rosales, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor who oversees the program in Los Angeles County. “It's very much in demand. I get requests almost daily from people who are either looking for a class or wanting to become certified as a UC Master Food Preserver.”
“People are chomping at the bit for this course,” said Virginia Bolshakova, UC Cooperative Extension director for San Mateo and San Francisco counties, who is trying to build the local Master Food Preserver Program slowly. “I have a feeling we're going to have to turn away 75 percent of the people that apply this time around! Our phones are ringing off the hook about this program.”
The program is currently located in 16 counties and expanding.
“We are hiring a staff person to move things forward and expect to have more resources for existing UC Master Food Preserver programs in the near future,” said Missy Gable, UC Cooperative Extension statewide Master Food Preserver Program co-director and UC Master Gardener Program director.
Most of the 46 MFP volunteers are in west Los Angeles and hold workshops at farmer markets, do demonstrations at community gardens and staff booths at the Los Angeles County Fair. They have begun reaching out to low-income residents and high school students.
“Some of our UC Master Food Preserver volunteers are working with high school students,” said Rosales. “A lot of schools now have gardens and one of the high schools has a culinary arts program and a beautiful new kitchen to prepare students for careers in the food industry. MFP volunteers have been teaching students how to dehydrate herbs and cook with herbs and dehydrate kale to make kale chips. They are also teaching jams and jellies classes.”
In Orange County, UC Master Food Preserver volunteers are working with UC Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development Program to create a Junior Master Food Preserver Program for youth. One goal of the program would be to give students an opportunity to earn a certificate in food preservation that they can put on college or job applications.
For more information about the UC Cooperative Extension Master Food Preserver Program, visit http://mfp.ucanr.edu. To find an MFP program near you, visit http://mfp.ucanr.edu/Contact/Find_a_Program.
In the video below, Missy Gable, talks about plans for UC Cooperative Extension's statewide Master Food Preserver Program.
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To watch Susan Algert, UC Cooperative Extension advisor, demonstrate safe canning practices in a video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeoymcsLWlg.