Home food preservation can help prevent food waste and save on family food budgets. There is an increased interest in eating fresh, locally grown produce and home food preservation has had an increased interest in recent years. If not done properly, however, loss of food, time and money are the least of one's worries. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that home-canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. From 1996 to 2014, there were 210 outbreaks of foodborne botulism reported to the CDC. Of the 145 outbreaks that were caused by home-prepared foods, 43 outbreaks, or 30 percent, were from home-canned vegetables.

In response to client inquiries, telephone calls, and requests for more detailed information on freezing and drying foods, the Boone and Kenton County Cooperative Extension Services partnered to offer two workshops for adults focused on home food preservation. A day-long, hands-on session focused on water-bath and pressure canning with short discussions on freezing and drying foods. A half-day session on dehydrating foods and freezing foods also featured an opportunity to prepare a fruit and a vegetable for the freezer and observe and learn about food dehydrating. 

In both sessions individuals learned the importance of using reliable, research-based recipes and methods, choosing the most appropriate and effective method of preserving the product, the proper methods of preparing and preserving different foods, and the value of preserving their own foods. 

Both workshops were presented in both Boone and Kenton Counties. A total of 72 adult males and females attended one or both programs in either county with almost half (44 percent) of them classifying themselves as “rookies” or new to food preservation. Surveys were mailed five months after the programs and three months after the end of a typical harvest season. Results from the mailed survey showed that half (50 percent) of participants now properly blanch foods prior to freezing; 82 percent now use only “approved” recipes from reliable sources instead of those that have been passed down or from unreliable sources; and, 73 percent now use only approved canning jars and lids for their product.  Two individuals purchased food dehydrators as a result of what the learned in the programs.

Participants reported home preserving about 250 pints of food either by canning, freezing or dehydrating. Several indicated they saved about $100 a week because of the food they preserved at home. Four participants shared a total of 61 of the items they canned with others placing a value of $265 on their gifts.