PFSE News

Julie Gardner, Ph.D. has been an Extension Agent, and now an Extension Specialist, with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for over 25 years. During her time with the extension, she’s had the opportunity to participate in and develop numerous programs but her “favorite activity to do with youth” is the “4-H Food Challenge.” Julie graciously took the time to sit down and share with PFSE staff about the 4-H Food Challenge and what makes it so special.

Many of us have fond memories of cooking with our parents or grandparents, baking cookies or preparing holiday meals. When looking for fun activities to do with kids, one great-grandmother went a step further. Barb the Great, as she’s known by her family, works with brothers Cole and Clayton to enter cooking contests. She does all the research and each…

Marie Canesi is a culinary teacher at the League School of Greater Boston. The school’s mission is “to help students with Autism develop to their fullest potential in every aspect of their lives; social, emotional, academic, and behavioral.” For the past eight years Marie has been in the kitchen with her students, teaching them how to…

Joey Peutz and a group of fellow extension educators in Idaho are working on a special project to help parents delight their children in eating a rainbow of fresh produce from local farmers markets. The farmers market recipe book…

Today is World Food Safety Day! Let’s inspire young people to take charge of their own healthy, safe meals. When young people prepare their own meals and snacks they are doing more than feeding themselves. A study from the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior suggests…

In the age of COVID-19 when so much of students’ time is spent online, building recipes is a valuable opportunity for hands-on learning. Cooking and building safe recipes incorporate math, science, nutrition, and food safety in…

Research shows that when recipes contain food safety instructions, people follow them. In fact, 90% of people washed their hands using recipes with safety instructions, compared to just 59% who washed hands while preparing food without safety instructions…

In recent research released by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (Year 3 findings), 53% of respondents to a national survey reported having someone at higher risk of foodborne illness in their household. Someone at higher risk could be a young child, an elderly person, a pregnant family member, or a loved…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly everyone made changes in how they purchase food and prepared meals. Concerns about in-store shopping and a scarcity of essential items gave rise to a new or increased reliance on delivery options. According to Nielsen IQ, online food and beverage sales…

A research team supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is conducting five separate iterations of a meal preparation study to address a specific consumer behavior and to determine the effectiveness of a behavior change intervention…

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Extension Food Safety units at Kansas State University (KSU) and the University of Missouri (MU Extension) used a variety of community outreach channels to distribute food safety information. Our primary channels included news stories, radio spots, public…

Not unlike a delicious yeast bread, consumer spending on home baking rises during the holiday season. Cookies, cakes, pies and breads are delicious traditional goodies for winter holiday celebrations. According to NCSolutions, household spending on sweet and dessert items have been high throughout the COVID-19 pandemic…

Keeping your family safe from a foodborne illness is more important than ever. With the healthcare system fully employed to help people who have coronavirus, it is important to stay healthy and stay out of the hospital emergency room…

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “farm”? Perhaps you picture a huge field with stalks and vegetables. Many people don’t think about farms providing safe food for our families to eat. Food safety on the farm is not usually front of our minds on a day-to-day basis. But when a food recall makes the news, we may wonder are farmers keeping our food safe?

We have seen such a dichotomy of events throughout the year that has been 2020. The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on those involved within the food system has been unprecedented. The pandemic has been likened to a hurricane that knows no shore. With the closure of dine-in restaurants, the retail…