One of my favorite parts of my role as the State Coordinator for our Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Food Volunteer Program is that I get share highlights with our stakeholders about the kinds of programs our volunteers are involved with in our local communities.
Each group of volunteers work with a variety of programs with their supervising Extension agent, and the types of programs may vary widely across counties, depending on what each locality needs for educational programming.
As an example, an online article was recently published about some of the many programs the Arlington and Alexandria Master Food Volunteers support through working with the Arlington Food Assistance Center; senior adult programs; and farmers’ markets. According to Jennifer Abel, senior Extension agent for family and consumer sciences, the volunteers provide food demonstrations to highlight fresh produce and ingredients that people may not be familiar with, and they also entice consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables by providing recipes to try at home.
Here is a link to this article:
Kudos to our volunteers and Extension agents!
Melissa Chase, State Coordinator, Master Food Volunteer Program