Master Food Preservers Host Family Jam Session

The San Bernardino Master Food Preservers hosted its first Family Jam Session recently on Saturday, July 27, and Tuesday, July 30. The Jam Session taught kids and adults alike how to make a strawberry jam that requires no cooking and is easy to preserve in the freezer. The process was no longer than four steps and was overseen by a member of the Master Food Preservers at all times. Children were able to participate in the class for free and adults were asked to pay $10 to join in on the fun. The San Bernardino Master Food Preservers is a volunteer program that currently has 57 volunteers on its roster. All members have their Food Handler Certification and the program itself is certified by University of California, Davis for food safety and home food preservation. The Family Jam Session brought in over 35 participants who all walked out of the class with their strawberry jam and the knowledge to continue making and preserving their own. Pat Malone, a volunteer for the program, spoke on her favorite part of the program. “Seeing how pleased and receptive people are to food safety and food preservation and to see kids doing the activities and learning about food safety,” Malone said, [MISSING LAST HALF OF QUOTE]. Christine Lampe, who has attended one other class with the Food Preservers before, said, “I think it’s great to be involved. The kids get to learn what to do and how to make something easy.” Eileen Gallardo, who was at the class with her granddaughter Cassidy Barrett for the first time, said, “This is great information that you can take home and make [things with] on the fly.” The Master Food Preservers have been doing classes such as this since 1996 and will continue to host classes as they have been. The group’s previous “Tons of Tomatoes” class educated participants about the many different things they could do with leftovers or an abundance of tomatoes. In the near future, they will be doing a “Pucker Up For Pickles” event and a “Gifts for the Holiday” event that will focus on dishes that can be wrapped and decorated as gifts for the holiday season. These events will be $12 per person.