Cohort Two of the Clemson Cooperative Extension Master Food Preserver program graduated at the Philips Market Center in Columbia, SC on January 29, 2025. Participants completed a two-part training program consisting of an eight-week self-paced online training course and a two-day in-person intensive course. Participants then completed 30 hours of volunteer service alongside Clemson Cooperative Extension Food Systems and Safety Agents. Activities conducted by the participants included home food preservation workshops and demonstrations, community outreach informational booths, pressure canner gauge testing, public school food preservation classes, and the dissemination of research-based information about safe home food preservation methods across South Carolina.
Five graduates from Cohort Two are in Upstate South Carolina and represent Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and Oconee counties. These graduates add to the nine Master Food Preservers from Cohort One in the Upstate which represent Greenville, Pickens, Spartanburg, Anderson, and Oconee counties. Additionally, five new Upstate participants from Cohort Three are beginning the volunteer service hour portion of their Master Food Preserver training.
Look to find Master Food Preservers at your local farmers markets, community centers, county fairs and other locations across the Upstate to learn about safe home food preservation.
If you are interested in home food preservation information or want to become a Clemson Cooperative Extension Master Food Preserver contact Food Systems and Safety Agent Alex Thompson by email (art6@clemson.edu) or by phone (864-986-1286).
