Clermont County Food Preservation classes are in full swing this year. Last week’s workshop allowed attendees to make water bath salsa. Vegetables used to make the salsa were provided by the Clermont County Master Gardeners Demonstration Gardens and consisted of onions and peppers of all varieties. Workshops take place on the fairgrounds, located in the 4-H hall kitchen, and are hosted and taught by OSU Extension Clermont County’s Family Consumer Science Educator, Margaret Jenkins. Be on the lookout for future Food Preservation Workshop Dates. To register for a Food Preservation Workshop use the registration link below. For questions about future workshops or food preservation contact: Margaret Jenkins, Clermont County FCS Educator, jenkins.188@osu.edu or 513-732-7070.
Family and Consumer Sciences
Clermont County EC3 Play Learn Grow Group
Our SNAP-Ed team (L to R: Allison Ostrander, Sara Niekamp , and Becky Fiscus) spent their time this morning hanging out at the EC3 (Early Childhood Coordinating Committee) Play Learn Grow event. The event took place at Clermont Northeastern Headstart, located in Owensville. The team passed out educational materials on nutrition and youth activities. They also had the opportunity to speak to parents and children about nutrition and educational learning.
Advancing Mobile Meat in Appalachia
Whether you shop for local meat, raise livestock, operate a slaughterhouse, or create value-added products, the meat processing bottleneck affects you!
The project Planning To Advance Mobile Meat Slaughter and Processing in Ohio and Central Appalachia, conducted by The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, Inc. (ACEnet) and project consultants, aims to draft and support a plan for a possible solution.
Will you commit ten minutes of your time to share your values and needs in a short survey?
We want to hear from as many farmers, processors, and consumers in the Ohio and Central Appalachian region as we can and appreciate any feedback.
Start the survey: https://corexmsffsgb599k6k6d.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2iwNa7YVbJjpRtA
Growing Plants in Unique Places
It is time for the weekly Clermont County Master Gardener Volunteers Garden Update. Did you know that you can grow plants almost anywhere? Lumber has drastically sky rocketed, making it hard for people to afford to purchase. There are alternatives to using wood for your raised bed gardens. The Clermont County Master Gardeners have used several unique alternatives in their demonstration gardens here on the fairgrounds. Some of the things used are: tires, logs, straw bales, and even a sink! The MGV’s have continued their amazing teamwork to ensure that their gardens flourish. Many of the plants on the fairgrounds are blooming nicely and are creating vegetables to be harvested. The MGV’s have created a schedule amongst themselves to care for the gardens daily and they continue to take notes of their findings, duties, and observations. Pictured below you will see many of the different unique planting options and the abundant growth of all the vegetables and flowers located in the different gardens located on the fairgrounds. The MGV’s also had a big harvest this week of Radish, Lettuce, and Zucchini.
Summertime Food Safety
Now that we are in the Summer months, we all have more opportunities to enjoy being outside. But the warm weather also brings more opportunities for food to become contaminated with harmful bacteria. To protect you and your loved ones from foodborne illness, it is critical to practice safe food handling. Check out the following simple guidelines to ensure you are doing all you can to keep everyone healthy.
- Keep your cold food cold- Make sure your cold food is packed in a cooler with plenty of ice or ice packs. Consider organizing your cold foods and drinks into different coolers. Keeping drinks separate from food, will ensure the food is not exposed to warm temperatures each time someone opens a cooler to get a new drink.
- Do not cross contaminate your foods– Keep raw meat, seafood, and poultry securely wrapped and store them towards the bottom of the cooler. This will keep their juices from contaminating prepared/cooked foods that are being stored in the cooler.
- Clean your produce- rinse your fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water before packing them in the cooler. Packaged fruits and vegetables that are labeled “ready-to-eat” do not need to be rinsed.
- Outdoor hand cleaning– Whenever possible always use warm water and soap to wash your hands. When handwashing is not possible, use hand sanitizer or hand wipes.
- Cook your food thoroughly– When cooking or grilling use a food thermometer to make sure your food is cooked to the proper temperature. Use the “is it done yet?” picture from the USDA to know what the proper internal temperature is for different types of meat, poultry, and fish.
Coalition for a Drug-Free Clermont County Searching for Youth Volunteers
The Coalition for a Drug-Free Clermont County is looking for youth who are interested in joining our Youth Led Coalition. Students would receive volunteer opportunities along with skill building activities like time management, communication skills, creating social media content, and learning marketing techniques while educating their peers on how to live a drug-free healthy lifestyle. Please send the following link to students to sign up: https://form.jotform.com/211714751676156
Food Preservation Workshops
It is time for the annual Clermont County Food Preservation Workshops.
- June 24th at 10:00 AM will cover Water Bath Canning Berries
- July 15th at 5:00 PM will cover Pressure Canning Harvested Veggies
- August 24th at 5:00 PM will cover Tomato Products
- September 15th at 10:00 AM will cover Tomato Sauce
Workshops REQUIRE pre-registration and are limited to 6 people per workshop.
The deadline to register for the first workshop on June 24th is Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
Cost: $40 per workshop
Location: Clermont County Fairgrounds, 1000 Locust Street, Owensville, Ohio 45106, Located in the 4-H Hall kitchen.
Please see below for a link to registration and a workshop flyer.
New Richmond Schools’ Traveling Lunch Bus
A “lunch bus” will deliver meals to children in Clermont County’s New Richmond Exempted Village School District this summer, officials said. It’s the first bus of its kind in the county.
New Richmond typically distributes 300 to 500 meals per week during the summer months, according to a news release from the district. Officials anticipate that number to increase with the Traveling Lions Lunch Bus.
The Clermont County school district serves more than 2,300 students in the village of New Richmond, the village of Moscow, Monroe Township, Ohio Township, Pierce Township, Tate Township and Washington Township, according to its website. About 40% of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Read more about the New Richmond Schools’ Traveling Lunch Bus from Madeline Mitchell’s Cincinnati Enquirer article HERE.
One Question Could Save Someone’s Life
The month of May helps us to be aware that warm weather is inching toward Ohio, it is also Mental Health Awareness month. May is a time to help us gain awareness and understanding of persons with mental or behavioral health problems or difficulties. Mental health professionals, such as counselors, are trained and educated to help those struggling with mental or behavioral health challenges. However, did you know that even if you are not a trained professional this may be helpful to those silently struggling? Read on to learn more about a training anyone in the community can take to gain knowledge on how to help those struggling in a potential mental health crisis.
Each person can take training and learn to use a strategy known as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer). Ever heard of QPR? Here is a parallel comparing QPR to Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. CPR is an emergency action non-medical professionals use to help save the lives of people in cardiac arrest until professional help arrives. While QPR is an intervention strategy that non-mental health professionals use to help someone in an immediate mental health crisis. QPR is a training of a three-step intervention approach. CPR does not certify you as an EMT, as QPR does not certify you as a mental health professional. But QPR may help you deter someone experiencing a mental health crisis such as suicide.
Let’s start with the Q-Question:
- Questioning (Q) is the most difficult part to work through in the training. How to ask the question in a variety of ways “are you thinking about dying?” is taught during this section of the training
If a person says yes to the Q-Question, then we go to the P-Persuade:
- During the training, you learn the basics of talking to a person in crisis by ways to P-Persuade them to a variety of tactics for help.
- Sharing how much they are loved and cared for by either you or someone (if they are strangers to you) is a valuable skill taught during QPR.
Then you the R-Refer:
- The final step is Refer or R. Many times the person will need professional help in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes that will be the immediate 911 phone call. Other times helping make an appointment with a licensed mental health professional.
Interested in learning more about QPR or attending the training yourself? You can join us virtually on July 17th at 10:30 am. Participants must be over the age of 18 to become certified. Email Bridget Britton at britton.191@osu.edu to sign up for the training. Seats are limited. You never know when this training on one question could save someone’s life.
This column is provided by the OSU Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Team, https://agsafety.osu.edu/.
Bridget Britton, Extension Field Specialist, Behavioral Health
