North Dakota State University Extension and Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC) 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.

“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,” said 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, Spirit Lake Mobile Farmers Market, and cooking classes.  

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

The course is offered online. Participants can participate in the self-paced modules beginning Oct. 22 and complete them by early 2025. Certificates and prize drawing opportunities will be provided for those completing the modules.

In addition to the new online class modules, CCCC is offering weekly hands-on food preservation workshops as fruits and vegetables come into season.

“We are pleased to partner with Candeska Cikana Community College. We especially enjoyed offering an in-person workshop at the college with community members. We made a lot of salsa and apple butter from home-grown produce,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist and project director for the NDSU Extension portion of the grant.

“The narrated online modules can be accessed by anyone who wants to learn more about preserving food safely. There is no cost for the program,” Garden-Robinson adds.

To register for this course, visit ndsu.ag/fp101. Once registered, participants will receive enrollment instructions to access the course.

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

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Oct. 3, 2024

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

Editor: Elizabeth Cronin, 701-231-7006, elizabeth.cronin@ndsu.edu