For years, food preservation has been offered to the Daviess County community through the Cooperative Extension Service.  With over 54% of the Daviess County youth receiving Free and Reduced Lunch, there is a need to provide low-expense and nutritious meals year-round.  Food preservation sessions have been offered to these youth over the last three years by Daviess County 4-H Agents in Afterschool, School Enrichment, and Summer Day Camp settings to help make this possible.  These sessions deliver a variety of skills and food preservation education to Daviess County 4-H youth.

Of a combine 176 youth participating, 14 have completed two or more of these food preservation, food safety, and/or nutrition programs.  As a result, one family has stated that they have begun canning and freezing foods for later use.  The parent said so far, canning foods has been expensive but once she has acquired the needed equipment, canning will provide a way to preserve nutritious foods outside of the growing season.  Additionally, the number of 4-H Food Preservation entries for the Daviess County and Kentucky State Fairs have increased since 2016 from 6 to 30 and 2 to 5 respectively.