Date/Time: Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Place: University of Maine Regional Learning Center, 75 Clearwater Dr., Ste 104, Falmouth, ME

For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 781.6099 or in Maine 1.800.287.1471.

WVII (Channel 7) covered a canning workshop held on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Felicia Dumont, food preservation community education assistant with UMaine Extension, spoke about the importance of learning how to can correctly.

The Portland Public Schools system is upgrading its centralized kitchen with the help of University of Maine Cooperative Extension food safety specialist Jason Bolton.

The system’s food processing center, currently housed in the Reed School building at 28 Homestead Avenue, where it has been since 1987, expects to be in a newer, updated facility by this fall.

In 2010, Ron Adams, Portland Public Schools food service director, contacted Bolton for assistance with the design, layout, equipment and regulatory aspects of a new facility after architects and contractors determined the current building was beyond repair. Bolton says he has helped set up similar facilities, but never a building used for cafeteria-style food preparation.

Adams says he contacted Bolton, an assistant extension professor, because he wanted someone with food processing facility experience to help the kitchen with the transition.

Bolton toured the current facility, which he described as compartmentalized with a terrible flow, and spoke to Adams about what he was looking for in a new building. Adams and Bolton considered several sites before securing a 15-year-old building last year.

The building, located about three miles from the current facility, used to house a seafood processing plant and requires renovations before the commissary can move in. The plans for the facility were finalized in the spring and construction is under way.

The city of Portland approved a $3 million bond to pay for the facility, real estate and equipment, according to Adams.

Bolton assisted with the kitchen design by offering suggestions for the layout of equipment and floor drains and recommendations of what type of wall materials, floor coatings and sanitation systems should be used.

“It’s all about preventing contamination issues,” Bolton says.

The 16 workers at the commissary are responsible for making and shipping around 5,000 meals a day to K–12 students attending public schools in Portland, according to Adams.

The meals are fully cooked at the commissary and are shipped out to school cafeterias to be served to students.

“They had done a lot of Band-Aid fixes on things because that’s what they had the money to do so they had to do it,” Bolton says of the current facility. “Nothing that was necessarily unsafe, just not all that efficient.”

Bolton says a lot of the outdated equipment made tasks more difficult for workers, and the new facility will improve conditions with additions such as more pumps to avoid heavy lifting, a preparation area for workers to get ready and more office space.

The new space will also be easier to clean and will provide space and necessary equipment that will allow the commissary to expand its market, Bolton says. The food center wants to turn part of the building into a shared-use facility they could either rent to other processing companies or use to co-pack, meaning they would use their workforce when they’re not making school meals to prepare and process food for other companies, according to Bolton.

“Food safety and quality control will greatly improve with the new facility,” Bolton says, citing floor drains, sanitation systems, new equipment and wall and floor materials as important upgrades. “They will also decrease their risk of food-borne illness.”

Bolton also expects efficiency will improve with new equipment, loading docks and the overall flow of the building by reducing electricity and cook time.

The commissary is also working to increase use of food from local farmers.

“They’re starting to get into processing local produce, so they needed a facility where they could also do that and their old facility was kind of rough,” Bolton says.

Bolton says the new building has enough space, storage and loading capabilities to handle processing and freezing more local produce.

“We purchase a large portion of our food from local sources given our urban location,” Adams says, estimating about 20 percent of the food used at the facility is local dairy and 10–12 percent is local fruits, vegetables, bakery and proteins.

Bolton plans to continue his relationship with Adams and the commissary through training. He says he believes members of Adams’ management team will attend some of his summer courses on commercial-food sanitation to prepare for possible expansions with food processors.

Contact: Elyse Kahl, 207.581.3747

Food Safety Training for Volunteers

Many organizations and community groups rely on volunteers like you for a variety of food events for fundraising, fellowship, food pantries or other service to the community. But cooking for a crowd is tricky! How do you store all that food? When is the food completely cooked? How long can you leave food on the buffet table? Now there is a workshop on Safe Food Handling designed specifically for Volunteers.

This class meets the Good Shepherd Food Bank food safety training requirements.

Why attend?

There’s a lot to learn about safe food preparation and handling. If you don’t do it for a living, you may not be aware of all the special techniques involved in cooking for a large group of people.

It is scary to think about people getting sick from your meal, but it can happen. More than three quarters of the outbreaks are blamed on food eaten outside the home.

While food-borne illness can be as mild as stomach ache, it can be much more serious and sometimes fatal.

Unsafe food can “spoil” your group’s reputation — and its finances. Don’t take a chance. Sign up for the for the “Cooking for Crowds” workshop. Learn to protect yourself and the people you feed.

What you will learn

Learn up-to-date methods for safely preparing, handling and serving food for large group functions such as soup kitchens, church functions, food pantries and community fundraisers.

Workshops cover the following food safety guidelines:

• Planning and Purchasing
• Storing Food Supplies
• Preparing Food
• Transporting, Storing and Serving Cooked Foods
• Handling Leftovers

Materials fee: $15.00/per person. Scholarships are available.

Participants receive

• Cooking for Crowds – A manual specifically designed for volunteer cooks;
• Certificate of Attendance;
• Posters; and
• Instant Read Thermometer.

For more information or to register, e-mail Theresa Tilton at theresa.tilton@maine.edu or call 207.942.7396 or 800.287.1485 (in Maine) or 800.287.8957 (TDD) to register.

To view additional dates and locations for this workshop, visit Cooking for Crowds 2013 Workshop Schedule.

If you are a person with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in this program, please call Theresa Tilton at 207.942.7396 to discuss your needs. Receiving requests for accommodations at least 10 days before the program provides a reasonable amount of time to meet the request, however all requests will be considered.

Wednesday & Thursday, August 21 & 22, 2013
University of Maine, Orono
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

This workshop offers hands-on field and classroom experiences to develop skills that will enable participants to strategize, implement and/or manage food waste systems through aerobic composting or anaerobic digestion. The following is a partial list of topics to be covered during the workshop. Visit www.composting.org for complete program schedule.

Topics will include:

• Components of Food Waste Management
• Methods of Food Waste Management: Compost Methodologies and Anaerobic Digestion
• Behind the scenes of Successful Food Waste Management
• Recipe Development
• Troubleshooting
• Opportunities with Anaerobic Digestion and Food Waste

Recertification Credits: 8—State of Maine Nutrient Management; 10—Certified Crop Advisory

Optional Day 3 Food Waste Management Tour

Friday, August 23, 2013
Depart 7:30 AM from Doris Twitchell Allen Village. Return 4:30 PM.

Tour three central Maine facilities that are managing food waste material with different technologies. Transportation and lunch included.

Management of food waste residuals is changing in Maine. The State of Maine has a goal of reducing organic material entering landfills by 50%. Removing and utilizing food waste residuals is an important component to reach this goal.

• This educational tour is for industry representatives, food service providers, institutional administrators, agricultural service providers, local, state and federal agency staff, and academic colleagues.
• You will learn and experience three methods for utilizing food waste residuals in agricultural production systems.
• You will have the opportunity to interact with facilities operational staff to learn the benefits and concerns.
• The tour will allow participants to network with others working to recycle food waste residuals.
• You will take away ideas on how you and your organization can be part of the change in managing Maine’s food waste.

7:30 a.m.: Leave the Doris Twitchell Allen Village on Ranglely Road
8:15—9:15: Kinney Compost, Wes Kinney, Knox, ME
10:15—11:30: Rainbow Valley Farm, Harland Bragg, Sidney, ME
11:30—12:30: Buffet Lunch in Waterville
2:00—3:30: Stonyvalle Farm, Adam Wintle, Exeter, ME
4:30 p.m.: Return to Campus

Recertification Credits: 4—State of Maine Nutrient Management; 4—Certified Crop Advisory

Register online. Or mail us your payment and registration form (PDF). (Mail to: Jeanne S. Pipicello, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Knox-Lincoln Counties office, 377 Manktown Road, Waldoboro, ME 04572-5815.) Pre-Registration is required for the 2-day workshop and/or the tour.

Registration for the Food Waste Management 2-day on-campus workshop is $200 for each participant. Fee includes all instructional materials, refreshment breaks, lunches, and assorted publications. Workshop check-in will be at 8:30-9:00 a.m. in the Wholley Room on campus. Parking permits are required and provided. Registration for the optional Friday tour is $50 for each participant and includes transportation and lunch.

NOTE: You are responsible for making your own lodging accommodations and are separate from the workshop registration fee.

Directions & Lodging: University of Maine Orono Campus & “Where to Stay”

Printable Map: University of Maine Orono Campus. The workshop will be held in the Wholley Room at the Doris Twitchell Allen Village on Rangely Road.

Presented by the Maine Compost Team & University of Maine Auxiliary Services.

For more information about this or other workshops, please contact: Mark Hutchinson, Extension Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Knox – Lincoln Counties office, 377 Manktown Road, Waldoboro, ME 04572-5815; 207-832-0343 or 1-800-244-2104 (in Maine); mhutch@maine.edu.

If you are a person with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Jeanne S. Pipicello at 207-832-0343 or 1-800-244-2104 (in Maine) or 1-800-287-8957 (TDD) to discuss your needs. Receiving requests for accommodations at least 10 days before the program provides a reasonable amount of time to meet the request, however all requests will be considered.

For more information, see Bulletin #4198 Facts on Fiddleheads.