Food preservation is an important summer-time activity in many parts of Wisconsin, and many counties respond to canning questions, offer food preservation workshops, and promote safe food preservation through media releases. One way that your office can be prepared to respond to this demand is to have trained individuals, staff or volunteers, available to help. Next summer, in 2006, we’ll introduce a new, more rigorous Master Food Preserver training for both staff and volunteers. Please read on if you are interested in finding out more about this program and if you would like to host training next summer.

What is Master Food Preserver training? Master Food Preserver training is a 3-day train-the-trainer certificate program designed to train interested staff and volunteers to conduct workshops and answer questions on food preservation topics. The training schedule is:

• Day 1: Registration and the Science and Safety of Food Preservation (morning); Freezing and Drying Foods (hands-on) (afternoon)
• Day 2: Using a Pressure Canner (hands-on) (morning); Pickles and other Acidified Foods (hands-on) (afternoon)
• Day 3: Canning Tomatoes and Salsa, Canning Fruit (hands-on) (morning); Jams and Jellies (hands-on) (afternoon)
  
  Each day traditionally runs from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, with take-home assignments each day.

Who should sign up for MFP training? This type of a program is designed for dedicated staff and volunteers. The Individuals who sign up will be expected to attend all 3 days of training. This is not a program for individuals with no experience in home food preservation! The ideal candidate will have at least some exposure to canning food at home, will be open to learning new skills and knowledge, and, once trained, will be effective at supporting UWEX-sponsored food preservation programs. In addition to participation in the 3-day training program (face-to-face), there will be web-based assignments due before the training (readings and a pre-test), take-home assignments during the training, and a post-test required of all participants. Individuals will also be required to provide 20 hours of volunteer service in a period after their training before they will be certified as Master Food Preservers. This new, more rigorous training will more effectively support food preservation programming in the state through well-trained staff and volunteers.

What’s involved in hosting Master Food Preserver training?

1. Set the date. Master Food Preserver is a 3-day program. The training will be offered at 4 to 6 locations around the state in 2006, ideally one training per District (negotiable). Please contact Barb Ingham to talk about setting a date for your training (see note below)*. You will want to consider local activities (school activities, the county fair, etc) as you consider dates that might work best for your training.
   *Dates that are NOT available for training in 2006:
   June 1-2, 2006
   June 12-16, 2006
   June 24-28, 2006 (?)
   July 17-21, 2006
   August 10th and later
   
2. Participate in planning. Groups (district or county-based) that schedule trainings will be expected to identify key individual(s) who will participate in planning meetings via Wisline. In these planning meetings we will discuss issues such as recruitment of participants, logistics (materials, cost, etc), training content, examinations, and ideas for tracking volunteer service hours. The Wisline programs will begin fall 2005 and carry over into 2006. Individuals who participate in planning will be asked to keep others in their District informed of discussions at the planning meetings.
   
3. Secure a location. The proper location will have:
   • Space to comfortably host 10 (minimum) to 22 (maximum) individuals
   • Classroom and kitchen space. Often a school home economics lab classroom/lab works well. Be sure to check to see if there is a cost for the facility, as this will impact the cost that you will want to charge for your training.
     
4. Set the cost of the training. Set the cost of the training so that you can recover your expenses, while meeting any revenue requirement that you might have. A limited amount of scholarships will be available. Each hosting site will be responsible for handling all fees and purchases. Costs you can expect:
   
   • Bulletins - Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series: Canning Fruits Safely (B0430), Canning Salsa Safely (B3570), Canning Vegetables Safely (B1159), Freezing Fruits and Vegetables (B3278), Homemade Pickles and Relishes (B2267), Making Jams, Jellies and Fruit Preserves (B2909), Tomatoes Tart and Tasty (B2605), Using and Caring for a Pressure Canner (B2593), Wisconsin’s Wild Game: Enjoying the Harvest (B3573), Canning Meat, Wild Game, Poultry and Fish Safely (B3345), Make Your Own Sauerkraut (B2087) – ($29.35 + tax & shipping retail; estimated price to counties $18.00 for each set). [Barb will supply any additional handouts that are needed. Copies of So Easy to Preserve can be purchased for an additional cost ($12 each) but will not be provided gratis. One to two copies will be awarded as door prizes at each training location!]
     
   • Canning supplies–
     • Jars: 6-10 per person. Available for purchase at Wal-Mart, Farm and Fleet or other discount stores, or perhaps you can solicit donations for your program. Each person generally takes home 6-10 jars of canned fruit, pie filling, salsa, jam, etc (canning in pint and half-pint jars only).
     • Freezer bags: One to two boxes will be sufficient.
     • Other items as needed, usually minimal, assuming the kitchens are well equipped.
       
   • Food – Aside from print material, this is the greatest expense. Depending on what is canned/dried/frozen and the seasonality of produce, you can expect that food may run $10 to $20 per person, or more. You will be responsible for purchasing food for the training. Barb will purchase bulk supplies: Clear Jel, pectin, etc.
     
   • Equipment – (no anticipated expense) Barb will be able to provide the following equipment: 3 dehydrators, 3 pressure canners (1 dial and 2 weighted gauge canners), 2 water bath canners, jar lifters/lid wands, timers, and so forth. Any additional canners are usually solicited from participants for the training.
     
5. Local administrative responsibilities. You will want to work with your District, and with others in the state, on promotion and marketing of this training. Locally, you will work with your office staff to screen and register dedicated participants, to collect money, track volunteer hours, etc. Applicants should be screened to ensure a background and interest in food preservation, a dedication to working with UWEX, and a willingness to contribute volunteer service hours. Preference for a training spot should be given to those who will provide the 20-hours of volunteer service! [Note, certificates will be distributed only after the 20-hours of volunteer work are documented.]
   
6. Follow-up. You will need to work with counties in your District, as applicable, to track volunteers AND their volunteer hours so that certificates can be distributed once all requirements have been met.

Please let me know of any questions that you have regarding this revised training program. I look forward to working with those of you who are interested in hosting this exciting program next summer!!

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Thanks to some great editing by Pat Ludeman, Lucia Patritto, Donna Peterson and Amy Rettammel an evaluation tool is now available (9/05) to accompany a lesson on food safety/using a thermometer when UWEX thermometers are distributed! The evaluation tool is available online: http://www.wisc.edu/foodsafety/Food%20Preservation/is_it_done_yet.htm

This evaluation tool is designed to accompany a single lesson on cooking foods to safe temperatures. A bingo-style game is included which covers the basic points in using a thermometer to cook foods to safe temperatures. Appropriate audiences for this evaluation tool would be day care providers, seniors, head start parents, and other adults with primary food preparation responsibilities.

When you request thermometers, please let me know:

• The size of your group & number of thermometers requested, and
• The nature of your programming: audience, location, etc

Certainly, if you have any questions about the evaluation tool, please let me know. You will be sending evaluation results to me and I will compile those and share a statewide report with you. Please remember to distribute the Thermometer Use Instructions (English/Spanish) when you offer the dial-stem thermometers to your learners!

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It’s apple season, and making apple cider at home can be a fun project. The University of Georgia has put together a fact sheet entitled Making Apple Cider which is an excellent resource for anyone anticipating this activity and includes up-to-date food safety information. The fact sheet can be found online: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/PDF/FDNS-E-91.pdf

How times have changed! A ‘Dear Ursula’ column that was shared with me recently is worth a chuckle.

Dear Ursula: I recently came across a home economics textbook that was used in the school systems during the 1950s. In it was information on how to be a good wife. I thought you’d get a kick out of it. Here are some of the pointers.

• Get your work done. Plan your tasks with an eye on the clock. Finish them an hour before your husband is expected home. Your anguished cry of “Are you home already?” is not exactly a warm welcome.
  
• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know you’ve been thinking of him and are concerned for his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.
  
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. His boring day may need a lift.
  
• Clear away the children. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order and it will give you a lift, too.
  
• Prepare the children. Take just a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and face, and if they are small, comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
  
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate noise from the washer, dryer, dishwasher and vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
  
• Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and act glad to see him.
  
• Some don’ts: Don’t’ greet him with a problem or complaint. Don’t complain if he is late for dinner. Count this minor compared with what he might have gone through during the day.
  
• Make him feel comfortable. Have him lean back into a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillows and offer to massage his neck and shoulders and take off his shoes. Speak in a soft, soothing, pleasant voice. Allow him to relax – to unwind.
  
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
  
• Make the evening his. Never complain is he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

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