Food Safety Training for Colorado Cottage Food Producers

This training covers specifics of the Colorado Cottage Food Act and how to safely operate a food business from a home kitchen.  The class includes instruction on basic food safety, foods permissible in Colorado Cottage Food Act, ingredient labeling and disclaimer requirements, special considerations for food preparation at altitude.  Completion of this training satisfies the State of Colorado’s food safety training for Cottage Food sellers.

Upcoming Classes for online Cottage Food Producer Safety Training:

• •  Zoom – in Spanish, April 29, 2024; 9 am – 12:30 pm:
  • https://zoom.us/j/94408408069?pwd=aU1jTE02SVNRNGRDODBzcmlBUklNQT09

Food Safety Works Class

The Safe Food Handler Training is a three hour course for food service workers that cover the basic requirements for safe food handling. The topics covered include: Preventing Foodborne Illness; Food Temperature Control; Personal Hygiene; Preventing Cross Contamination; Preparing and Serving Food Safely; and Cleaning and Sanitizing. Contact Carla at carla.farrand@colostate.edu for more information.  Please read the Food Safety Works Newsletter for up-to-date information on food safety.

Classes for FCS

Sourdough Basics: Caring for your starter and making bread – January 11th, 9 am to noon

Join us for a morning of learning about the history of sourdough. This class will teach you about proper caring of your starter, feeding your starter, and making sourdough bread. Participants will receive a starter to take home with them. You can register here or call us at 970-625-3969 ext. 1 or ext 3. Cost for this class is $20.

What to bring:

• 4-quart bowl – preferably not metal
• Wooden or plastic spoon
• Rubber scraper/spatula
• Apron

CSU Extension Family Consumer and Science Agent of Garfield County offers nutrition and health programs that focus on promoting health and improving quality of life by using current  research-based education and strategies that apply to everyday life issues on healthy eating.

Family Matters Newsletter – Improving Health Together
Family Matters  is a free monthly newsletter that addresses reducing the risk of obesity by eating healthy and staying active; distributed in English and Spanish to families with young children. Email your request for this publication with your name, mailing address, and English or Spanish publication to mailto:carla.farrand@colostate.edu.

Enlace Latino: Asuntos de familia

El boletín enlace latino: Asuntos de familia se encuentra con el sitio web de extensión cooperativa de la Universidad de Georgia.  Este boletín se publica dos veces por trimestre.  Puede leer o suscribirse al boletín informativo en https://site.extension.uga.edu/enlace/.  

Preserve Smart

Preserve Smart was developed by Colorado State University Extension in order to provide a trusted, mobile-friendly way to find and use tested food preservation recipes and instructions for any elevation–from sea level to high in the Rocky Mountains!

• Recipes and instructions provided are current, research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation as determined by Colorado State University Extension and the National Center for Home Food Preservation–established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA).

THANKS to the many Colorado Master Food Safety Advisors who volunteered as reviewers for Preserve Smart–sharing their invaluable time and wisdom related to safe home food preservation!

Master Food Safety Advisor Program

Master Food Safety Advisors provide 30 hours of service to the community by sharing their knowledge and teaching others on food preservation methods. They assist the Family & Consumer Science Extension Agent in answering consumer phone calls; providing information at local farmers markets, fairs and supermarkets; conducting presentations and workshops for community groups and schools; preparing educational displays; and writing articles for newsletters and newspapers.

Do you enjoy the art and science of food preservation?  Would you like to develop expertise in safe food preservation and teach others?  Consider becoming a CSU Extension Master Food Safety Advisor volunteer! The Master Food Safety Advisor is a trained volunteer educator and resource in the community to provide the public with up-to-date, research-based information on food safety, preparation and preservation from Colorado State University and USDA.

Please contact Carla.farrand@colostate.edu at the Garfield County CSU Extension office at 970/625-3969 for more information.

Home Food Preservation

USDA is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods. Numerous CSU Extension publications on food preservation are available.

Food Smart Colorado

Food Smart Colorado is a collection of information about food, nutrition and health, food safety, and various recipes and how-tos that has been developed over many years by faculty, staff, and student employees of CSU Extension.

We are here to help you Live Smart, Colorado!

• Are you looking for unbiased money management strategies?
• Wondering where to find research-based information about food safety and healthy eating ?
• Concerned about how to keep your home free from radon gas or molds?
• Thinking about renting an apartment, but don’t know where to find reliable help?

The Colorado State University Family & Consumer Science (FCS) Extension Agents and Specialists are here to help with these and many more questions.  We are located on the CSU campus and throughout Colorado in counties as big as Arapaho County and as small as Otero County.  FCS Agents and Specialists work to  improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.

The Family & Consumer Science Extension Agents and Specialists at CSU are committed to delivering science-based, practical knowledge that encourages lifelong physical, financial and emotional health and well-being to Coloradans.

Cooking Matters: Building food skills to end childhood hunger

Cooking Matters partners with the national nonprofit Share Our Strength to offer Cooking Matter® in Garfield County Cooking Matters teaches families at risk of hunger how to get more food for their money and better nourishment from those foods, as part of the No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger in America. Volunteer culinary and nutrition experts lead six week cooking and nutrition courses and hour long Shopping Matter® grocery store tours where participants learn how to select nutritious and low cost ingredients and prepare them in delicious and healthy ways. Cooking Matters is nationally sponsored by the ConAgra Foods® Foundation and Walmart. For more information, visit CookingMatters.org