Nine participants attended the 2017 Nicholas County Food Preservation Program including three participants new to Cooperative Extension programs.  They learned pressure canning, water bath canning, freezing and drying methods of food preservation.  Half of the participants identified their current food preservation skill levels as ‘Novice’ and 25% as ‘Intermediate’, and 25% as ‘Skilled’.  Many participants reported learning about the program via the newspaper, friends and family members.  Most (83%) chose to attend the program because of a desire to learn, for personal accomplishment, to improve skills, to save money and to interact with others.     

Comments included being afraid of the pressure canner as well as  "I want to learn the latest information" and "I want to make sure I am preserving foods correctly". Discussions and hands-on activities led by retired Family & Consumer Agents, Cheryl Case and Peggy Helton covered home canning basics, using the pressure canner, the boiling water canner, the dehydrator, and the freezer to preserve foods.  The acidity of foods, which methods of food preservation work for which foods, and the importance of using UK Extension USDA research based information and recipes were emphasized repeatedly throughout the workshop.  

The Food Preservation Workshop booklet was thoroughly covered.  Participants canned green beans in the pressure canner, tomatoes and salsa in the boiling water canner, dried apples in the dehydrator, and prepared strawberry freezer jam.  Cheryl Case demonstrated how to blanch and prepare corn for the freezer.  Participants prepared enough corn for a quart size freezer bag.  Madison McAlmond, Family & Consumer Sciences Agent for Nicholas County conducted evaluations on pressure canning, dehydration, and freezing.  She also conducted a high/ low activity on the acidity of foods.  Madison reviewed the answers with the participants to ensure they learned correct knowledge, new recommendations, and correct methods of food preservation for different foods. By the end of the workshop, participants commented on how much they had learned and how much more confident they felt to go home and use the pressure canner and preserve foods correctly and safely.  

Participants will use their newly acquired skills to preserve high quality safe foods for their families. The end of program evaluation results indicate an increase in food preservation skills.  All participants (100%) reported that the food preservation program fulfilled their expectations.  All participants (100%) strongly agreed that they have better skills in home preservation methods following the program, that they understand the difference between low and high acid foods and that they can identify spoilage in home preserved products.  Over half (56%) of the participants reported growing a garden this year.  Participants reported using food preservation methods to can 1130 pints of fruits, vegetables or fruit/vegetable products using pressure canning, 174 pints of fruits, vegetables or fruit/vegetable products using water bath canning, and freeze 430 pints fruits, vegetables, jams and jellies.