Upcoming Events for Union County Center
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Summer Fun Camp: Celebrating the Past, Embracing the Future
Monday - Thursday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm June 24-27, 2013
Youth Ages 9 to 12 years
Cost: $80.00
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the Extension and Community Association or ECA. Formerly this group was known as Home Demonstration and later Extension Homemakers. ECA is closely affiliated with the Family and Consumer Sciences (Home Economics) program of the NC Cooperative Extension Service – a program area that also celebrated its centennial two years ago. Both groups have worked together over the years to strengthen and support youth and families.
To celebrate this centennial milestone, Extension Agent Sally McNeill will lead a fun week of activities for children ages 9-12, all of which will highlight the "way things used to be".
To set the stage, participants will gather around the radio for a broadcast of "If We're Green We Grow". They will learn about the history of the NC Cooperative Extension, including the formation of tomato clubs and the development of Home Demonstration in the early part of the 1900's.
During the week children will learn how to make jelly and preserve tomatoes; bake bread and make homemade peanut butter; make "chicken scratch" samplers and learn simple stitchery; play "old timey" games and churn ice cream; have a tea party and hear stories of long ago; and lots more. The week promises to be filled with lots of interesting experiences that will help children learn about the past, appreciate the present, and embrace the future. Come and help us celebrate our 100th year anniversary. You'll be glad you did!
Introduction to Food Preservation: Freezing and Dehydrating is a 4-hour program designed to teach the principles of safe freezing and food dehydrating.
The class is taught by Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent, Sally McNeill. Sally offers classes in the areas of foods and nutrition, health and wellness, food safety and food preservation. She has been teaching home canning classes for over 19 years and because of demand began offering classes in freezing and dehydrating three years ago, too.
The class will begin with an overview of the principles of freezing and dehydrating. Participants will learn about the safety aspects involved with each process and the key considerations when selecting equipment. The instructor will also have freezing and dehydrating equipment on display.
Following the presentation, participants will move into the kitchen for some hands-on experiences, including freezing and dehydrating of a number of different fruits and vegetables.
If you know little about the principles behind freezing and dehydrating but think you might like to get more involved, then attending this program is a great way to get started. If you are already familiar with freezing and dehydrating but just want a refresher...you will find the program informative and fun, too.
The class will be presented twice during the summer of 2013. Each class is the same so you only need to sign up for one date:
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Friday, May 24, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Cost: $20.00 each person
All sessions will be held at the NC Cooperative Extension - Union County Center, Agricultural Center, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112.
Please call 704-283-3732 to register and receive a confirmation number to be sure there is space in the class. Then send payment to Sally McNeill at the address above. Make checks payable to: NC Cooperative Extension - Union County.
Come join Chatham County Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos as she gives a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC. The garden is comprised of 140 different perennials, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina. The tour is free and registration is not required. Tours are given monthly May-November. Learn more at the garden website at http://go.ncsu.edu/pollinator-garden
The Basics of Home Canning workshop is a 5-1/2 hour hands-on training that teaches the following: Canning Safety; Types of Equipment; Proper Canning Methods; Boiling Water Bath Canning; Pressure Canning; and more! The workshop is taught by Sally McNeill, Family and Consumer Science agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Union County, NC. Sally offers classes in the areas of foods and nutrition, health and wellness, food safety and food preservation. She has been teaching home canning classes for over 19 years.
The workshop is designed for beginners with little or no previous canning experience. However, if you are an experiences canner, or a little rusty on technique, the workshop is for you, too, as it will provide an update on current USDA recommendations and help you brush up on your canning skills - both water bath canning and pressure canning. If you have never taken a canning class at the Agricultural Center in Union County before, then this is the one you should take first.
Comments from past Basics of Home Canning workshop participants include:
"Enjoyed the whole workshop. Thorough teaching and application. This was above and beyond my expectations. Everything was perfect! I feel I can do this now."
The workshop will be presented three times during the summer of 2013. Each workshop is the same so you only need to sign up for one date:
Time: 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Cost: $20.00 each person
All sessions will be held in the demonstration kitchen of the Union County Agricultural Center at 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112.
Please call Sally McNeill at 704-283-3732 to register and to receive a confirmation number before sending in payment, to be sure there is space in the class. Then mail payment to Sally McNeill, NC Cooperative Extension - Union County, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112. Make checks payable to NC Cooperative Extension - Union County.
The Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) is a week long program for rising 2nd through rising 5th graders. Sponsored by the Union County Extension and Community Association (ECA), the SEP is designed to provide stimulating learning experiences for youth in Union County. For specifics of the 2013 program or for more information, please contact ECA member and SEP coordinator, Harriet Metrosky, at 704- 289-5773 or Extension Agent, Sally McNeill at 704-283-3732.
Water Bath Canning: Tomatoes, Salsa and Such is a 4-hour hands-on workshop that addresses water bath canning with a specific emphasis on the proper way to home can tomatoes, salsa, tomato juice, and other tomato products in a water bath canner. The workshop is taught by Sally McNeill, Family and Consumer Science agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Union County, NC. Sally offers classes in the areas of foods and nutrition, health and wellness, food safety and food preservation. She has been teaching home canning classes for over 19 years.
The workshop will begin with a basic discussion of home canning and the safety conditions involved with this method of food preservation. We will talk about the kinds of equipment needed for water bath canning* and how to operate a water bath canner properly. Participants will have the chance to practice hands-on techniques when they get into the Extension kitchen to can tomatoes and prepare salsa. Participants will receive guidelines for acidifying all varieties of tomatoes safely and will go home with lots of canning recipes for tasty tomato treats!
Two sessions of Water Bath Canning: Tomatoes, Salsa and Such will be offered during the summer of 2013. Each is the same so you only need to sign up for one date.
PREREQUISITE: The Basics of Home Canning class is recommended prior to taking this class.
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Cost: $20.00 each person
Please call to register and to receive a confirmation number. 704-283-3732 Then mail payment to: Sally McNeill at NC Cooperative Extension - Union County, Agricultural Center, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112. Make checks payable to NC Cooperative Extension - Union County.
*Please note: Tomatoes may be canned in a pressure canner too, but this workshop does not address pressure canning. For more information about how to use a pressure canner, please see the calendar for information about the class, The Basics of Home Canning. Those who prefer using a pressure canning for canning tomatoes might still like to take this workshop, however, as it provides an update on current guidelines for preparing, acidifying, packing and processing tomatoes to keep products safe. Those guidelines would be the same whether you use a water bath or a pressure canner.
The Basics of Home Canning workshop is a 5-1/2 hour hands-on training that teaches the following: Canning Safety; Types of Equipment; Proper Canning Methods; Boiling Water Bath Canning; Pressure Canning; and more! The workshop is taught by Sally McNeill, Family and Consumer Science agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Union County, NC. Sally offers classes in the areas of foods and nutrition, health and wellness, food safety and food preservation. She has been teaching home canning classes for over 19 years.
The workshop is designed for beginners with little or no previous canning experience. However, if you are an experiences canner, or a little rusty on technique, the workshop is for you, too, as it will provide an update on current USDA recommendations and help you brush up on your canning skills - both water bath canning and pressure canning. If you have never taken a canning class at the Agricultural Center in Union County before, then this is the one you should take first.
Comments from past Basics of Home Canning workshop participants include:
"Enjoyed the whole workshop. Thorough teaching and application. This was above and beyond my expectations. Everything was perfect! I feel I can do this now."
The workshop will be presented three times during the summer of 2013. Each workshop is the same so you only need to sign up for one date:
Time: 9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Cost: $20.00 each person
All sessions will be held in the demonstration kitchen of the Union County Agricultural Center at 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112.
Please call Sally McNeill at 704-283-3732 to register and to receive a confirmation number before sending in payment, to be sure there is space in the class. Then mail payment to Sally McNeill, NC Cooperative Extension - Union County, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112. Make checks payable to NC Cooperative Extension - Union County.
Water Bath Canning: Tomatoes, Salsa and Such is a 4-hour hands-on workshop that addresses water bath canning with a specific emphasis on the proper way to home can tomatoes, salsa, tomato juice, and other tomato products in a water bath canner. The workshop is taught by Sally McNeill, Family and Consumer Science agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Union County, NC. Sally offers classes in the areas of foods and nutrition, health and wellness, food safety and food preservation. She has been teaching home canning classes for over 19 years.
The workshop will begin with a basic discussion of home canning and the safety conditions involved with this method of food preservation. We will talk about the kinds of equipment needed for water bath canning* and how to operate a water bath canner properly. Participants will have the chance to practice hands-on techniques when they get into the Extension kitchen to can tomatoes and prepare salsa. Participants will receive guidelines for acidifying all varieties of tomatoes safely and will go home with lots of canning recipes for tasty tomato treats!
Two sessions of Water Bath Canning: Tomatoes, Salsa and Such will be offered during the summer of 2013. Each is the same so you only need to sign up for one date.
PREREQUISITE: The Basics of Home Canning class is recommended prior to taking this class.
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Cost: $20.00 each person
Please call to register and to receive a confirmation number. 704-283-3732 Then mail payment to: Sally McNeill at NC Cooperative Extension - Union County, Agricultural Center, 3230-D Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112. Make checks payable to NC Cooperative Extension - Union County.
*Please note: Tomatoes may be canned in a pressure canner too, but this workshop does not address pressure canning. For more information about how to use a pressure canner, please see the calendar for information about the class, The Basics of Home Canning. Those who prefer using a pressure canning for canning tomatoes might still like to take this workshop, however, as it provides an update on current guidelines for preparing, acidifying, packing and processing tomatoes to keep products safe. Those guidelines would be the same whether you use a water bath or a pressure canner.
The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension will offer a workshop on Cover Crops from 1:00-5:00 pm on Monday August 12 in the auditorium of the Agriculture Building in Pittsboro. The workshop will be taught by North Carolina State University Soil Scientist Dr. Julie Grossman, farmer Alex Hitt of Peregrine Farm, and Debbie Roos of Chatham County Cooperative Extension. Details will be released in May.
Come join Chatham County Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos as she gives a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC. The garden is comprised of 140 different perennials, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina. The tour is free and registration is not required. Tours are given monthly May-November. Learn more at the garden website at http://go.ncsu.edu/pollinator-garden
Come join Chatham County Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos as she gives a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC. The garden is comprised of 140 different perennials, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina. The tour is free and registration is not required. Tours are given monthly May-November. Learn more at the garden website at http://go.ncsu.edu/pollinator-garden
What is ServSafe? ServSafe is a 16-hour Food Safety Certification Course. The National Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association designed the curriculum and the four 4-hour classes are taught by Sally McNeill, Extension Agent with the NC Cooperative Extension in Union County.
Who Should Attend? Foodservice managers, supervisors and other personnel in restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, childcare facilities, school cafeteria and other food handling establishments.
How Much Does the Class Cost? $125.00 each person for the four day course. Includes ServSafe Essentials 6th edition book and exam.
Class dates (you must attend all four days): Tuesday, October 1; Thursday, October 3, Tuesday, October 8 and Thursday, October 10, 2013. 1:30-5:30 each of the four days for a total of 16 hours.
Questions? Contact Sally McNeill at 704-283-3732
Come join Chatham County Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos as she gives a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC. The garden is comprised of 140 different perennials, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina. The tour is free and registration is not required. Tours are given monthly May-November. Learn more at the garden website at http://go.ncsu.edu/pollinator-garden
The Union County Senior Wellness Expo is a "one-stop-shop" for information about services available to seniors in Union County and the surrounding area. In 2012, over 90 senior service providers and health screeners were on hand to talk with attendees and over 500 people came to learn, interact and have fun! Free and open to the public. Parking available with complimentary shuttle to the front door!
Come join Chatham County Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos as she gives a tour of Cooperative Extension's demonstration Pollinator Paradise Garden at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC. The garden is comprised of 140 different perennials, 85% of which are native to the piedmont of North Carolina. The tour is free and registration is not required. Tours are given monthly May-November. Learn more at the garden website at http://go.ncsu.edu/pollinator-garden
