The Food Preservation workshop that took place at the Marion County Extension office was a great success. Between 11-14 participants attended a three-day workshop where they learned all about pressure canning, a boiling water bath, dehydrating, freezing and various tips of the trade. The ages ranged anywhere from 11 yrs. old to 60+. And the level of expertise in the area was just as broad-there were some who have canned all of their lives and those who had never even seen a pressure cooker before.  The class was taught by two retired extension agents and they truly made the class by not only demonstrating the proper way to preserve the food items but they shared stories about other people's experiences and that really helped the individuals relate to them. All of the individuals were very pleased with the program and would like to attend more workshops/lessons of this type of programming. 

When following up with one of the participants, she stated that "since attending the classes with my two daughters, we have been able to spend more time together in the kitchen canning green beans, freezing corn and we even made some jelly to gift our family members." A couple of the individuals also started up their own gardens this summer through a program with the Community Action. This class was part of their requirement to get their garden items. When following up with them they stated that they were able to take the produce from their very first garden and preserve several different items for their families all winter long. 

Another lady commented that, "even though I learned to preserve food with my mother many years ago, I realized that there were several things that I have been doing wrong all this time." "Thanks to this class, I can now safely preserve my food and prevent food poisoning." She said, " I guess you "can" teach an old dog new tricks."