Progress 09/15/20 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience reached by our efforts during this reporting period includes military veteran farmers, military veteran small food processors, and other small-scale farmers and processors. There are around 20.4 million military veterans in the U.S. Military veterans are typically overrepresented in rural America. Six million veterans live in rural America, and it is estimated that 40% of service members deployed from Iraq and Afghanistan call rural America home. California is home to 1.8 million military veterans. Indiana has over 400,000 military veterans, approximately 8.6% of the adult population [4]. Agriculture is an important economic source for both states. Approximately 15 million acres (nearly 2/3 of all Indiana acres) and 43 million acres (nearly 1⁄2 of all California lands) are used for agriculture. Many veterans also belong to groups identified by the USDA as socially disadvantaged. For example, nearly half of Indiana veterans are 65 years or older but 14% (approximately 59,000) are under 40 years old. Women comprise approximately 7.4% and minorities comprise approximately 13% of all Indiana veterans. Following their service or deployment, veterans may return home with a wide variety of conditions related to physical and emotional trauma that potentially hinders them from successful reintegration. Nearly 20% of military service members who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or major depression while 10% reported that they were injured and required hospitalization. Farming can offer veterans opportunities to build on skills learned in the military (discipline, the ability to work long hours, a sense of service) to provide for themselves and their families while also working in a therapeutic environment that can help them adjust to civilian life. The USDA and other organizations provide a number of resources and programs to veterans within the state. However, veterans, like other socially disadvantaged groups, participate in these programs at lower rates, including food safety programs. Furthermore, there are very few studies describing best practices for working with Veterans interested in farming so it is unclear to what extent traditional programs and content delivery are effective with veterans. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Webinars Total registration: 313 Total live session: 169 September 14th, 2022: What to do With Abundant Produce: How to Safely Cans and Jellies in Your Home Kitchen Presenter: Nicole Richards Length: 1 hour Registration: 25 Live session: 30 September 28th, 2022: Agriculture Water Safety & Irrigation Basics for Small/Medium Sized Farms Presenters: Dr. Erin DiCaprio & Lyndon Kelley Length: 1 hour Registration 15 Live session: 24 October 5th, 2022: How to Safely Prepare Products in Your Home Kitchen: Sanitation and Good Manufacturing Practice Basics Presenter: Nicole Richards Length: 1 hour Registration: 11 Live session: 8 October 26th, 2022: Pest Prevention Tips to "Close the Barn Door Before the Horse Bolts" Presenters: Marc Potzler & Todd Johnson Length: 1 hour Registration: 16 Live session: 13 November 2nd, 2022: Farm Safety Record Keeping Best Practices Presenter: Dr Shannon Coleman Length: 1 hour Registration: 8 Live session: 8 November 9th, 2022: Farm Audits- An Introduction for Beginners Presenter: Calloway Jamerson Length: 1 hour Registration: 9 Live session: 5 March 7th, 2023: Top Social Media Strategies for Small- and Medium- Sized Farms Presenter: Dr. Ariana Torress Length: 1 hour Registration: 56 Live session: 12 March 9th, 2023: Communicating Value and Making the Sale Presenter: Renee Wiatt Length: 1 hour Registration: 46 Live session: 17 March 21st, 2023: Food Safety Plan (Part 1) Presenter: Autumn Stoll Length: 1.5hour Registration: 44 Live session: 11 March 23rd, 2023: Food Safety Plan (Part 2) Presenter: Han Chen Length: 1.5 hour Registration: 44 Live session: 11 Conference workshops Total participants: 72 June 6th 2023: What do I need to do to meet food safety? AgrAbility Regional Workshop- Indianapolis, IN Presenters: Autumn Stoll & Robert Culler Length: 1 hour Participants: 30 March 20th 2023: Post-harvest food safety AgrAbility National Training Workshop- Spokane, WA Presenters: Amanda Deering & Autumn Stoll Length: 1 hour Participants: 27 November 12th, 2022: Food Safety Education for Military Veteran Farmers Veteran Farmer Coalition Annual Meeting- Oklahoma City, OK Presenters: Autumn Stoll & Yaohua Feng Length: 1 hour Participants: 15 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results from the Veteran Farmer Webinar Seriespre and post survey were disseminated through a poster at the AgrAbility National Training Workshop in Spokane, WA March 20-23, 2023. A manuscript with the results from the national veteran farmer survey is in progress. Additionally, an abstract with the survey results will be submitted for the International Association for Food Protection's 2024 annual conference. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We developed, pilot-tested, and administered a food safety knowledge and practice survey among military veteran farmers. We collected survey responses from over 500 military veterans We developed and conductedsemi-structured interviews with 27 veteran farmers regarding on-farm food safety and training needs/ preferences. On-farm food safety education efforts have been accomplished throughout the year through webinars (313 reached), poster (25 reached)and workshops (71 reached).
Publications
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Progress 09/15/21 to 09/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached by our efforts during this reporting period includes military veteran farmers, military veteran small food processors, and other small-scale farmers and processors. There are around 20.4 million military veterans in the U.S. Military veterans are typically overrepresented in rural America. Six million veterans live in rural America, and it is estimated that 40% of service members deployed from Iraq and Afghanistan call rural America home. California is home to 1.8 million military veterans. Indiana has over 400,000 military veterans, approximately 8.6% of the adult population [4]. Agriculture is an important economic source for both states. Approximately 15 million acres (nearly 2/3 of all Indiana acres) and 43 million acres (nearly ½ of all California lands) are used for agriculture. Many veterans also belong to groups identified by the USDA as socially disadvantaged. For example, nearly half of Indiana veterans are 65 years or older but 14% (approximately 59,000) are under 40 years old. Women comprise approximately 7.4% and minorities comprise approximately 13% of all Indiana veterans. Following their service or deployment, veterans may return home with a wide variety of conditions related to a physical and emotional trauma that potentially hinders them from successful reintegration. Nearly 20% of military service members who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or major depression while 10% reported that they were injured and required hospitalization. Farming can offer veterans opportunities to build on skills learned in the military (discipline, the ability to work long hours, a sense of service) to provide for themselves and their families while also working in a therapeutic environment that can help them adjust to civilian life. The USDA and other organizations provide a number of resources and programs to veterans within the state. However, veterans, like other socially disadvantaged groups, participate in these programs at lower rates. Including food safety programs. Furthermore, there are very few studies describing best practices for working with Veterans interested in farming so it is unclear to what extent traditional programs and content delivery are effective with veterans. Changes/Problems:We requested a no-cost extension for one more year of this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. We developed and delivered 2 in-person workshops and 8 webinars for veteran farmers. The topics covered including agriculture water safety, value-added food safety, and GAPs. 2. We collaborate with multi-state food safety extension specialists to deliver workshops and webinars for the audiences. In summer 2022, three webinars on safe food handling were organized with over 300 participants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1. We published 2 peer-reviewed journal articles on small-scale farmers and veteran farmers. 2. We presented at local and regional meetings and conferences, including Indiana Environmental and Health Association, International Associations for Food Protection, Florida Association for Food Protection, National Agribility Program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We requested a no-cost extension for one more year of the project. We will continue developing online programing for veteran farmers, which include: 1. social media content to advocate for food safety 2. videos on food safety topics presented by food safety professionals 3. virtual game modules that address farm food safety 4. webinars and virtual learning opportunities for farmers to engage with food safety experts. 5. in-person workshops to engage veteran farmers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. We maintained the websites for veteran farmer food safety and created more content on the website. 2. We created new social media accounts and content to increase awareness of food safety and promote veteran farmer food safety. 3. The participants of our webinars, in-person workshops are more aware of food safety management and are more likely to follow what they learned.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Chen, H. Benjamin, T., Guan, W., Feng, Y. 2022. A Food Safety Education Needs Assessment for Small-Scale Produce Growers Interested in Value-Added Food Production. Journal of Food Protection.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chen, H., Feng, Y., & Gibson, K. 2021. Identify Food Safety Education Needs for Military Veteran Farmers. Food Protection Trends.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
https://extension.purdue.edu/food-safety-for-military-veteran-farmers/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
IAFP T9-11 Consumers Food Safety Perception of Fresh Produce from Small- and Medium-Sized Farms
Juan C. Archila-God�nez, Maria I. Marshall, Renee Wiatt, Amanda J. Deering and Yaohua (Betty) Feng
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
IAFP P3-89 Regulatory Considerations for Small-Scale Produce Drying Operations: A Multi-State Perspective
Obtained through Inspector Interview
Megan Mei Yee Low1, Amanda Kinchla2, Nicole Richard3, Erin L. DiCaprio4 and Yaohua (Betty) Feng1
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Progress 09/15/20 to 09/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached by our efforts during this reporting period includes military veteran farmers, military veteran small food processors, and other small-scale farmers and processors. There are around 20.4 million military veterans in the U.S. [1]. Military veterans are typically overrepresented in rural America [2]. Six million veterans live in rural America and it is estimated that 40% of service members deployed from Iraq and Afghanistan call rural America home. California is home to 1.8 million military veterans [3]. Indiana has over 400,000 military veterans, approximately 8.6% of the adult population [4]. Agriculture is an important economic source for both states. Approximately 15 million acres (nearly 2/3 of all Indiana acres) and 43 million acres (nearly ½ of all California lands) are used for agriculture [5, 6]. Many veterans also belong to groups identified by the USDA as socially disadvantaged. For example, nearly half of Indiana veterans are 65 years or older but 14% (approximately 59,000) are under 40 years old. Women comprise approximately 7.4% and minorities comprise approximately 13% of all Indiana veterans. Following their service or deployment, veterans may return home with a wide variety of conditions related to physical and emotional trauma that potentially hinders them from successful re-integration. Nearly 20% of military service members who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of post- traumatic stress (PTSD) or major depression while 10% reported that they were injured and required hospitalization [7]. Farming can offer veterans opportunities to build on skills learned in the military (discipline, the ability to work long hours, sense of service) to provide for themselves and their families while also working in a therapeutic environment that can help them adjust to civilian life [8]. The USDA and other organizations provide a number of resources and programs to veterans within the state. However, veterans, like other socially disadvantaged groups, participate in these programs at lower rates. Including food safety programs. Furthermore, there are very few studies describing best practices for working with Veterans interested in farming so it is unclear to what extent traditional programs and content delivery are effective with veterans. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1. We developed a survey to measure the veteran farmer food safety education program needs. This survey will be administered Fall 2021. 2. We are developing food safety virtual modules for veteran farmers. These modules include a serious game to learn about "cleaning and sanitizing" and a learning circle module to learn about "agriculture water food safety." 3. We collaborate with the regional food safety extension specialists to deliver workshops and webinars for the audiences. In summer 2021, three webinars on safe food handling were organized with over 200 participants; in August 2021, a 3-day workshop on product development and food safety for small-scale farmers and processors was organized with 15 participants (two veteran farmers). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1. We published or submitted 4 peer-reviewed journal articles on small-scale farmers and veteran farmers. 2. We presented at local and regional meetings and conferences What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. collect and analyze the national needs assessment survey data. 2. conduct and evaluate the virtual learning circles with veteran farmers. 3. present at the veteran farmer annual conference to increase awareness of the food safety program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. We developed and administer virtual programs and websites for veteran farmers to have food safety resources. 2. The participated veteran farmers are more aware of food safety management and expressed willingness to learn more about this topic.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chen, H., Ellett, J. K., Phillips, R., & Feng, Y. (2021). Small-Scale Produce Growers Barriers and Motivators to Value-Added Business: Food Safety and Beyond. Food Control, 108192.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chen, H., Kinchla, A. J., Richard, N., Shaw, A., & Feng, Y. (2021). Produce Growers' On-Farm Food Safety Education: A Review. Journal of Food Protection, 84(4), 704-716.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chen, H., Feng, Y., & Gibson, K. 2021. Identify Food Safety Education Needs for Military Veteran Farmers. Food Protection Trends.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Chen, H. 2020. NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION FOR SMALL-SCALE FARMERS.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Chen, H. Benjamin, T., Guan, W., Feng, Y. submitted. A Food Safety Education Needs Assessment for Small-Scale Produce Growers Interested in Value-Added Food Production. Journal of Food Protection.
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