Nine participants completed the 2018 Lee County Food Preservation Program including five participants new to Cooperative Extension programming.  They learned the pressure canning, water bath canning, freezing and drying methods of food preservation.  Almost half (40%) of the participants reported using food preservation methods never or rarely prior to the class.  Many of the Lee County participants said that they learned about the program through a friend, the Extension agent or at the Extension office.   Half (50%) of the participants chose to attend the program to interact with others.  Almost half (40%) of the participants also reported that they were attending because of a desire to learn and in order to improve skills.   

End of program evaluation results indicate an increase in food preservation skills.  All participants (100%) agreed they had better skills in home preservation methods, could identify research-based methods of home food preservation, could identify the necessary equipment for home food preservation methods, and could identify spoilage in home preserved products following the program.  Two participants reported growing gardens this year, planting in a combined total of 13,390 square feet (over a quarter acre) of garden area.  

Three months following the 2018 Lee County Food Preservation Program, two participants completed the Three-Month Follow-Up Survey.  Both reported using the foods they had prepared during the program and utilizing the skills they had learned during the program to preserve food at home.  Participants reported that in addition to using food from their garden to use their food preservation skills, they also used food from others’ gardens and produce from farmers’ markets and grocery stores.  Altogether, participants reported preserving 49.5 quarts of fruits, 63 quarts of vegetables, 15 pints of jams and jellies and 6 quarts of pickles this summer.  

            Comments from participants indicated that they thought the program was very informative and interesting.  One participant suggested a session with advanced information for the more experienced food preservers attending. One participant commented, “The program on food preservation is so informative, I just wish more people would attend.”