Back to the Basics During Not So Basic Times

Published: 2020
By Jackie Rumph

The MSU Extension Yellowstone County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agent has a variety of duties furthering education in areas including health and human development, housing and environmental health, food and nutrition, and family economics and estate planning. With topic areas this broad, it is no surprise the 2020 pandemic impacted community programming. Food preservation prevents food spoilage and extends the consumable life of produce. Feeling confident in following food preservation standards is a primary goal of food preservation education. Food preservation provides a sense of safety and stability for consumers. Statistics show those who have been properly trained in food preservation are more likely to follow up-to-date recipes, thus maintaining food quality and safety. Pre-pandemic, food preservation was making a comeback due to the trend towards local production becoming popular with younger generations. Panic associated with empty grocery store shelves, coupled with idle time during the stay-at-home directive, led many community members to rely on the knowledge of the MSU Extension FCS agent. Clientele began calling as early as March and April. The Yellowstone County office fielded triple the preservation calls from previous years. This focus on preservation continued into the fall, with more pressure gauges being tested in 2020 than in any other year. Recognizing the need for food preservation information, MSU Extension partnered with Billings Parks and Recreation to offer a pandemic-compliant outdoor food preservation basics class with community gardeners. Class attendees successfully learned how to process food safely, with some stating they would try canning for the first time ever this year.