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.

Treworgy Family Orchards is located on 3876 Union Street in Levant.

The free public program will be led by UMaine Extension tree fruit specialist Renae Moran. The workshop will cover pruning, pest management and general maintenance of fruit trees.

Part of the workshop will be held outdoors in the orchard and participants are asked to dress accordingly. Registration is required. To register or to request a disability accommodation, contact the UMaine Extension Penobscot County Office at 207.942.7396 or 800.287.1485 (in Maine).

Seed Starting 101

Free workshop Tuesday, April 16, 2013 from 10am – noon at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office at 307 Maine Ave., Bangor.

Learn the basics of how to successfully start your own seedlings in this hands-on workshop. Pre-registration is required. Reserve your spot today by calling 207.942.7396 or within Maine 1.800.287.1485 or email Katherine.garland@maine.edu

For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 207.942.7396.  UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.

Topics will include selecting and evaluating a farm enterprise, writing a business plan, record keeping, market research, and much more. The webinar is free. Course texts can be purchased from the UMaine Extension Publications Store.

More information >>

• Bangor Mall,
• Black Bear Inn,
• Bugaboo Creek Steak House,
• Cookie Nook Bakery,
• Day’s Jewelers,
• Domino’s Pizza in Old Town,
• Giacomo’s Restaurant,
• Great Skates Entertainment Center,
• Hannaford,
• J.C. Penney,
• Longhorn Steak House,
• Maine Discovery Museum,
• Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant,
• Natural Living Center,
• Nicky’s Cruisin’ Diner,
• Rebecca’s Gift Shop,
• Wal-Mart, and
• What’s the Scoop? Cafe.

Other items donated are equipment paint from Tractor Supply Company in Dover-Foxcroft, and horse supplies from Blue Seal in Bangor. Lots more items are coming in daily.

Not only will there be an all day auction, but 4-H’ers from both counties will be presenting Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks during the day. Be sure to join us by the J. C. Penney store, inside the Bangor Mall. You’re sure to find something you just can’t resist!

Maine 4-H is the Youth Development arm of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. All monies received will go towards scholarships and programs.  For more information, contact Brenda Mowdy at (207) 327-2111.

An online application may be found at the following website:  http://umaine.edu/penobscot/programs/gardening/master-gardeners/. To request a printed application, please call Kate at 207-942-7396. Applications should be submitted no later than February 13th. The course fee is on a sliding scale from $110-$330. A limited number of scholarships are available. UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.

On July 3, a research tour organized by UMaine Extension sustainable agriculture specialist Ellen Mallory is being offered for a group of 35 Danish organic grain and dairy farmers from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The event is part of a weeklong tour of farms in the region, an exchange that resulted from contacts made during a similar 2010 tour in Denmark by Maine and Vermont bread-wheat farmers and millers.

On July 10, Mallory will lead a meeting, “University of Maine Small Grain and Forage Field Day,” from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., to highlight research being conducted as part of the local bread-wheat and organic dairy projects. Topics include variety trials of wheat, spelt and flax, summer forage options, fitting wheat into dairy rotations, and organic bread-wheat fertility. Additional speakers include Richard Kersbergen, Tom Molloy and Aaron Englander. This event is free and open to the public.

On July 25, the “2012 University of Maine Sustainable Agriculture Field Day” will be held from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The focus of this year’s event will be “Advances in Pest Management” and will include talks on integrated pest management for sweet corn, tree fruit, and home gardens, plantings to attract pollinators, crow management in corn, spotted winged drosophila and the Master Gardener program. An optional pest identification session will be held from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Media are welcome to cover all events. For additional information, contact Charlene Herrick in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture at (207) 581-3204.

“This workshop is for gardeners who are interested in learning more about what pollinators are, why they are important and what gardeners can include in their home landscape to encourage these valuable insects,” says Kate Garland, Penobscot County Extension Horticulturist.

Kathy Hopkins, Somerset County Extension Educator says that two-thirds of the world’s crops rely on pollination from bees, insects, birds and others to reproduce. Come learn how to manage your landscape to enhance the habitat for our pollinators to support productive crops.

The dates and locations for the programs are:

• April 12, UMaine Extension’s Somerset County office, Skowhegan, 474-9622 or in Maine 1-800-287-1495.
• April 13, UMaine Extension’s Piscataquis County office, Dover-Foxcroft, 564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491.
• April 24, UMaine Extension’s Penobscot County office, Bangor, 942-7396 or in Maine 1-800-287-1485.
• April 25, UMaine Extension’s Hancock County office, Ellsworth, 667-8212 or in Maine 1-800-287-1479.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goal. Any person with a disability who needs accommodations for this program should contact their local county office to discuss their needs at least 10 days in advance.