Preserving food is as old as time itself, it seems.  However, safe food handling and storage is essential to food safety and quality. Following several food preservation workshops, there were several requests for and an interest in learning to safely preserve meat.  The inclusion of a diverse, non-tradition FCS audience (i.e. getting men to attend) also led to the food preservation workshop on canning fresh meat and ground meat.  The workshop focused on the food preservation techniques of pressure canning, including the tools of the trade, safe operation of the pressure canner, identifying appropriate "head space", safe food handling procedures along with hands-on activities to increase participants’ experience and confidence in food preservation. Participants completing the pre and post test indicated:  100% strongly agreed/agreed that they could identify research-based methods of home food preservation, had better skills in home preservation methods, understood the difference between low acid and high acid foods and could identify the correct methods for canning those foods, could identify the necessary equipment for home food preservation methods and could identify spoilage in home preserved products upon completion of the program. One participant shared, “I have never canned anything before!"  Others indicated their initial "fear" of using a pressure canner for fear of "the canner blowing up".  Other participants remarked, "I never knew the canner had to vent.", "My mother never did it that way." "We used to just brown the sausage and turn it upside down to seal."  Didn't realize there was a "need" to process.  

With the recent pandemic, gardens are seen in many more home settings, food preservation and safety is on the rise as residents want to know where their food comes from, who has handled it and how it was processed.  Gaining skills and knowledge will lead to a more confident age of food preservers and passing these skills on to others.