Check out the Iowa State Spend Smart, Eat Smart blog about spice cupboard spring cleaning.  It has some great tips for checking your dry spices at least once a year and throwing away ones that are more than a year old and provides tips for making a seasoning mix with spices that you can still use in recipes:

What is your favorite spice?

http://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/foodsavings/

This blog also has a series of “Spring Cleaning” tips for your kitchen.

Great ideas!

Master Food Volunteers from Newport News and Suffolk recently presented workshops on healthy eating as part of the Community Forum on Aging with 128 participants.

Jaynee Sasso, a Master Food Volunteer from Newport News, presented “Getting a Perspective: Let Food Be Your Medicine” which featured information on how to increase the variety of healthy foods that we consume.  The content for her presentation was provided by Dr. Young Ju, Associate Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech.

Wanda Gerard (left) and Jaynee Sasso (right) participate in the Community Forum on Aging

Wanda Gerard, Master Food Volunteer and Master Gardener with Suffolk/Newport News, presented “Creative Cooking with Herbs and Spices.” Participants learned to identify herbs and their multiple uses for flavoring.

Many thanks to Jaynee and Wanda!

Kudos to Tracey Giordano, a Master Food Volunteer from Roanoke for her co-presentation with several local organizations in February to showcase healthy foods available in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and the American South.

An article, “FASS Forward to a Healthier Future” about this interesting program is featured on the Roanoke Tribune web site.  In addition, Roanoke Master Food Volunteer, Almena Hughes is shown with Tracey while they chose produce at a local market, and Chef Laura Pole demonstrated how to incorporate alternative flavors (like herbs and spices) in cooking to reduce sodium.

In addition, Deb Chappell, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for Roanoke and supervising agent for the Roanoke Valley Master Food Volunteers, encouraged program participants to participate in the upcoming FitEx program, an online fitness campaign, through Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Margaret, a Master Food Volunteer from Prince William County, recently added a wellness and nutrition corner in the lunchroom at their Extension Office.  This corner will feature a vegetable and fruit of the month, healthy recipes that include the featured vegetable or fruit, and a calendar that includes tips to stay healthy.

Starting March 1st, Prince William County will start their Fix-Ex Program that promotes eating vegetables, fruits and exercise. This program is designed to have a captain of the 6 member team, documenting your intake of vegetable, fruits and exercise. One team has already formed in Manassas.

Way to go, Margaret!  This is a great idea to inspire co-workers, visitors, and program participants to make some positive changes.

Our Master Food Volunteers in Fairfax recently participated in National Farmers Market Week at the County Government Center Market.  Katie Strong, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent for Fairfax, and Mae Carroll, Farmers Market Coordinator for the Fairfax County Park Authority and a very active Master Food Volunteer, are featured in this YouTube video, which will air on the Fairfax County internal news station, Channel 16.  Our Master Food Volunteers provide food demonstrations at these markets to showcase recipes for using local produce and choosing healthier options for fruits and vegetables.

Way to go!  We appreciate the hard work of our Family and Consumer Sciences Agents and Master Food Volunteers!

For more information about the 15th annual National Farmers Market Week and how farmers markets around the country also celebrated this week-long celebration, visit the USDA’s blog site:

USDA Blog

In June 2014, our Master Food Volunteers had the opportunity to attend the Master Gardener College held at Virginia Tech.  We collaborated with Dave Close, the State Coordinator for the Master Gardeners, John Freeborn, Assistant Coordinator for the Master Gardeners, our Extension faculty, graduate students, and VT Dining Services staff to offer some workshops specific to food preparation and safety.  Following are some pictures and highlights of our time together.  We had a great time and are very appreciative of the hospitality from our Master Gardener colleagues.  Thank you!

Eric Bowen, our Area Specialized Food Safety Agent in the Central District presented on produce safety from the garden to the table.  He also focused on some basic methods of food preservation and safety.

Joell Eifert, our Area Specialized Food Safety Agent in the Southwest District presented an introduction to home vegetable fermentation.  Joell also emphasized how to follow scientifically-tested methods to ensure a safe product.

Alisha Farris, a Registered Dietician and graduate research assistant in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise provided a workshop on reducing sodium, sugar, and alternative sources of protein.  We also reviewed food labels of some of our favorite food products:

Chef Randy, Chef Mark, and Jordan from Virginia Tech’s Dining Services shared some “keep it simple solutions” through using specific cooking techniques to enhance the flavors of our food without having to add extra ingredients, such as salt or sugar.  We even participated in some really fun taste-testings:

Chef Heather Petty, graduate research assistant in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, demonstrated ways we can “play with our food” to encourage more consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Heather discussed how to use the natural shapes of our fruits and vegetables to make fun “faces.”  Also included in this picture are some additional ideas for “edible art” for July 4, such as a watermelon basket and our United States flag using a variety of fresh fruits:

Heather demonstrates how to carve the watermelon basket using safe knife skills:

Dr. Molly Kelly, Enology Extension Specialist in our VT Department of Food Science, demonstrated some of the basics of enjoying winemaking at home as a hobby.  It was interesting to learn  about some of the different varieties of fruit that can be used to produce these wines:

We had a wonderful time this year and look forward to more opportunities for continuing education in the coming year.

A special thanks to our instructors for their hard work and to the Master Gardeners and faculty for working with us on these workshops!

Following is a picture of our Master Food Volunteers and Family and Consumer Sciences Agents participating in one of our sessions:Happy summer!

Melissa Chase, State Coordinator, Master Food Volunteer Program

Help us celebrate National Volunteer Week!

Virginia Cooperative Extension will celebrate the volunteers who improve the lives of Virginia’s residents during National Volunteer Week, April 6-12, 2014. “Celebrate Service,” the theme for National Volunteer Week, captures the meaning of this signature week: honoring the people who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities.

In 2013, Virginia Cooperative Extension engaged nearly 40,000 volunteers who provided more than 1.5 million hours of volunteer service in the commonwealth. Virginia Cooperative Extension offers several master volunteer programs that provide training opportunities in gardening and horticulture; food, nutrition, and safety; natural resources management; water supply systems; financial management; and energy conservation. More than 13,000 adult and youth volunteers served over 185,000 youth ages 5 to 19 in hands-on educational programs designed to build leadership, citizenship, and life skills in Virginia 4-H, the youth development program of Virginia Cooperative Extension.

“The tremendous difference Virginia Cooperative Extension has made in the lives of Virginians over the past 100 years has been due in large measure to the contributions of the many dedicated and tireless volunteers,” said Edwin Jones, director of Virginia Cooperative Extension. “National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to celebrate this contribution and to say thank you.”

National Volunteer Week, a Points of Light program sponsored by the Advil Relief in Action campaign, was established in 1974 and has grown exponentially each year, with thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled throughout the week. This year marks the 40th anniversary of National Volunteer Week, demonstrating the enduring importance of recognizing our country’s volunteers for their vital contributions.

We are also very proud of our Master Food Volunteers who contribute so much to our program!  Our volunteers help us reach more Virginians through through teaching, hands-on program support, and a lot of handling of details behind-the-scenes to make our Family and Consumer Sciences programs successful.

During this special week, we want to say thank you for all that you do.  We couldn’t do this without you!

Here are some of our most recent volunteers to join us:

Northern Virginia’s in spring 2014:

Portsmouth in fall 2013:

Stay tuned for more to come in 2014.