North Dakota State University Extension and Cankdeska Cikana Community College have partnered to create a free online course about home food preservation. Food Preservation 101 is an educational course featuring safe food preservation methods for freezing, water-bath canning, pressure canning, drying and fermenting.

Participants are invited to join this self-paced course with pre-recorded lessons, activities and a variety of resources. The curriculum covers how to safely preserve different types of food including salsa, jelly, sauerkraut, meats and vegetables.

The course launched in the fall of 2024 and is offered again in 2025. Participants can participate in the self-paced modules beginning Feb. 1 to be completed by May. Certificates and prize drawing opportunities will be provided for those completing the modules.

“This course is the next piece of the CCCC Land Grant Extension’s overall goal of enhancing food sovereignty and security for residents on the Spirit Lake Reservation,” says CCCC land grant director Jessica Fish, “but knowing how to preserve food is universally helpful.”

Food Preservation 101 connects with CCCC’s other programming, which includes a community garden, seed and seedling distribution, garden tilling, cooking classes and the Spirit Lake Mobile Farmers Market.  

“We are pleased to partner with Cankdeska Cikana Community College,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, Extension food and nutrition specialist and project director for the NDSU Extension portion of the grant. “Winter months are a great time to learn something new and prepare for the spring and summer season of growing and preserving food. These online modules allow people to learn in the comfort of their own home.”

The program is free. The narrated online modules can be accessed by anyone who wants to learn more about food preservation, but internet access is needed.

Registration for the course opens on Jan. 1 at ndsu.ag/fp101. Once registered, participants will receive enrollment instructions to access the course.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Outreach Program.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Dec. 17, 2024

Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, 701-231-7187, julie.garden-robinson@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu