Summer isn’t quite the same without fresh corn, beans, okra and tomatoes, but many Georgians don’t have easy access to the state’s bounty of produce.

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.

From crackers, to cheese snacks, to nutritionally enhanced juices, each new food that debuts on grocery store shelves starts with an idea and entrepreneurial passion.

University of Georgia food engineer Fanbin Kong has been awarded a more than $496,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the safety of nanocellulose and how it affects humans’ food digestion and nutrient absorption.

Ann M. Steensland, deputy director for the Global Harvest Initiative, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Sixth Annual International Agriculture Day reception. The event will be held from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19, at the Georgia Museum of Art. Hosted by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Global Programs, the talk and reception are free and open to the public.

Many food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, would never make it to grocery store or farmers market shelves without the help of beneficial insects like honeybees and butterflies. The number of these pollinating insects in the U.S. is declining, and to help, Georgia agricultural experts developed a statewide plan to teach gardeners and landscapers how to care for their plants and protect these vulnerable insects that are vital to food production.

Amanda Wilbanks, owner of Gainseville’s Southern Baked Pie Company, baked her way to the grand prize with her caramel pecan pie in the University of Georgia’s 2016 Flavor of Georgia Contest.

Mike Doyle doesn’t eat raw bean sprouts, medium-rare hamburgers or bagged salads. He isn’t on a special diet, but as director of the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Georgia, he studies the food pathogens that sicken thousands of Americans each year. For a time, foodborne illness was most often connected with undercooked meats; today, 33 percent of cases are tracked back to raw produce.