Canning season is here and, even if you haven’t harvested your backyard tomatoes or okra yet, it’s time to get ready.

Foods produced during their natural growing season often have greater nutritional value, and canning enables consumers to have more control over their food by preserving seasonal produce.

The Georgia Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences has named Elizabeth Andress, professor of foods and nutrition in the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), the organization’s Postsecondary Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year.

Picture yourself stress-free during the holidays because you prepared and froze holiday meals and treats in advance. Freezing prepared foods allows you the satisfaction of homemade meals with the convenience of store-bought ones.

For the past 20 years, Spalding County has been without a University of Georgia Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) agent. Sweda filled that gap last December when she joined the local Extension staff. Wade Hutcheson, coordinator of the Spalding County Extension office, said the position was eliminated during a time period when the state was undergoing drastic budget cuts.

More than 1,000 farmers, gardeners, health advocates and organic food lovers are expected to attend the 2017 Georgia Organics Conference and Expo. This year’s schedule includes farm tours, 10 in-depth workshops, 32 educational sessions, three daylong intensive workshops, two keynote addresses, one-on-one consulting sessions and a trade show. Registration ends on Monday, Feb. 6, for this year’s conference. The two-day annual event, one of the largest sustainable agriculture expos in the South, is set for Feb. 17-18 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.

For years, food scientist Francisco Diez studied and admired the work of University of Georgia Regents’ Professor Mike Doyle, but the two researchers’ paths never crossed. For the next year, they will work closely together as Diez transitions into Doyle’s role as director of the UGA Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Georgia.

If you are thinking about following in your grandmother’s footsteps to preserve food this summer, start preparing now by gathering your equipment and supplies. The proper tools should be kept in good condition to ensure safe, high quality, home-canned food.

Tucked into a corner of the University of Georgia’s campus in Griffin, Georgia, FoodPIC is an innovative research center that could be a key component in bringing business and industry to the state.