Indiana Master Food Preserver Information

Jody Taylor, a Master Food Preserver in Franklin, Indiana, and member of the Johnson County Homemakers' Extension Club since 2010, had this to say about the Indiana Master Food Preserver program.

What exactly is a Master Food Preserver?
Someone who has successfully completed the Master Food Preserver Training Program. The program in our area is offered by the local extension educator through the Purdue Extension Service/Johnson County Indiana. The course consists of a 40-hour training program, which includes lecture, group discussion, hands-on lab, and preservation processing, and concludes with a written exam assessing one's knowledge of the information learned. The purpose of the class is to increase the participants knowledge of the following areas:

a. Food Safety
b. Freezing Foods
c. Boiling Water Bath Canning
d. Pressure Canning
e. Drying Foods
f. Fermented and Pickled Products
g. Jams and Jellie Products

How did you become a Master Food Preserver?
I originally found out about our local MFP program in our local newspaper. I became interested in order to further my knowledge of food safety and canning. I grew up watching and helping my aunt with canning on her farm during the summers of my childhood. After moving to the country with my own family and growing fruits and vegetables, I had the desire to preserve the food we were raising and pursue a level of self-sufficiency.

By taking the MFP course, I began my journey with home canning, which has led to my involvement with other courses offered by our state extension program. These have included: Backyard Fruit Growers, Home Based Food Vendor, Introduction to Starting a Specialty Food Business in Indiana, Master Gardening Program, and a Pastured Poultry Series Webinar. However MFP is definitely an onsite, hands-on, learning experience and requires a substantial time commitment, but is well worth the effort. Indiana is blessed with Purdue University, which offers a wealth of knowledge and resources to our state.

What do you do as an MFP?
As an MFP, I utilize the training I received to make products for our family that include salsas, pickes, relishes, canned fruit, pie fillings, flavored vinegars, jams/jellies, fruit syrups and sauces, and dried fruits/vegetables and herbs.

Who do you recommend to become an MFP?
Anyone with an interest in the area may apply for the class whether she/he is a beginner or experienced home food preservationist. I would recommend becoming an MFP to anyone with a desire to can whether for family or the public. Through the years, canning has become a "dying art." No longer is it a necessity for survival and those who grew up with it are dying.

It is really time for those of us remaining to revitalize the spirit of independence and self-sufficiency that comes with growing and/or preparing our own food. Not only is it more fresh, delicious, and economical, but it grounds us to the world we live in. No longer must we be just consumers, we can produce!

Did it lead to a paying job or a volunteer job for you?
Being an MFP has given me critical food safety knowledge so I can provide safe, delicious products to my family and our local community through my involvement with our local farmers' market. This has led to my own small business start-up company known as Boys And Berry Farm, LLC. The primary products offered by my company are a wide variety of jams and jellies. Current inventory includes over 40 varieties of fruit-based jams and also pepper jellies.

As a home-based vendor, I am limited in what I can sell to the public based on our Indiana legislation, House Enrolled Act 1309. This states that home-based vendors are limited to high-acid canning via boiling water bath due to public safety concerns, primarily regarding botulism. For example, home pressure-canned green beans are not allowed. Canning of that nature requires a retail procedure and a commercial kitchen for processing.

My bio includes being a physical therapist, but I have been a stay-at-home mom for a number of years, raising our three boys. Launching my home-based business has turned my hobby into a profitable endeavor from which I receive a tremendous amount of enjoyment and creative fulfillment. It has been a very rewarding experience as a way of connecting with our local community.