By: Katherine Olvera, NFU Intern
How do you learn best? Some of us turn to workshops hosted by experts where we can see things firsthand and ask questions. Others like to do some learning from the comfort of our own home (or farm!), turning to online resources. As the Local Food Safety Collaborative (LFSC), a cooperative agreement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), wraps up another year of providing food safety education, training, and outreach to small and mid-sized producers across the country, we’re highlighting a few of the resources collaborative members have developed specifically with local food producers (and those working with them) in mind—no matter your learning style.
Amidst the pandemic, Farm Walks, produced by Tilth Alliance in collaboration with Washington State University’s Food Systems Program, went podcast! With two seasons and counting, Farm Walks aims to provide food safety education straight from the farm and farmer. Each episode showcases different producers and subject matter experts, discussing topics like employee training, designing your wash/pack area, and even safe on-farm composting. Featuring both English and Spanish episodes, Farm Walks is sure to be music to your ears. If videos are more your thing, Pennsylvania Farmers Union continues their Putting on Your Food Safety Lenses series in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Chesapeake Harvest, offering deep dives into the critical concepts outlined in the Produce Safety Alliance’s Grower Training to help producers understand how these concepts impact their operations.
For those working to deliver food safety education, some other great resources include Auburn University and Alabama Cooperative Extension’s Guide To Hosting An Interactive, Hands-On Produce Safety Training and Produce Safety Alliance’s (PSA) More Than Words illustration series. These resources both strive to make food safety education as impactful and accessible as possible. Auburn’s how-to guide provides valuable information on engaging producers from all age groups, covering everything from how to motivate adults and examples of hands-on learning activities to best practices for setting up workshops and events. To better support learners of all types, PSA’s More Than Words illustration series introduces key produce safety concepts through images, not only reducing language and literacy barriers but also encouraging farmers to actively be on the lookout for food safety areas of focus on their farms.
For even more food safety resources, visit the Local Food Safety Collaborative website along with the Food Safety Resource Clearinghouse for a curated source of food safety guides, factsheets, templates, and more. Don’t forget to follow LFSC on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the latest food safety news.
This project website is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award 1U01FD006921-01 totaling $1,000,000 with 100 percent funded by FDA/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by FDA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.