With many finding extra time on their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic two things became very apparent to the Pendleton County Extension Office.  The desire to grow their own produce and the need for educational resources for food preservation.  The Extension Service listen and provide help for both.  In the Spring of 2020 over 100 garden started kits were distributed to local residents and in Mid-Summer the extension service provided food preservation kits to most of those recipients.  Education resources were also provided in both kits.   

In a follow up survey the following information was revealed:

100 % used the researched based food preservation publications that were provided

Over 400 quarts or pints of produced was pressure canned, 378 watered bathed, 189 bags frozen and several dehydrated produce or herbs they had grown.  

In this new found way of educating, 56 % revealed this was their first kits provided by the county and 24% were first time users of our service.