The Cannery

Using the kitchen facilities at the Damiano Soup Kitchen, The Cannery educates and assists its participants to preserve high quality, inexpensive and nutritious food. Using hot water bath and pressure techniques, participants learn using a hands-on approach. They preserve a variety of things, including tomatoes, salsa, a variety of vegetables, stews, fish, jams, jelly and a number of different apple products.

There are two basic concepts of the Cannery:

• Offers hands-on food preservation classes
• Loans out food preservation equipment at no cost to income-eligible people and Community Garden members

In 2004 we offered the following food preservation classes:

• Food Connection
  • 2 - 4 people per class
  • About 7 quarts of produce to take home
  • The cannery provides the canning supplies, produce, and recipes
  • Teach practical canning/preserving
• Workshops
  • 6- 8 people per class
  • 2 – 3 jars of produce to take home
  • The Cannery supplies recipes and produce
  • Teach practical canning/preserving
• Sessions
  • Longer than Workshops
  • Have only 2 –3 people in each class
  • Participants provide the canning supplies and the produce
  • The Cannery provides the recipes and training
  • Teach practical canning/preserving
• Special Group Workshops
  • An introduction to preserving
  • Offered to various community groups (i.e.: Mother Child Literacy Program, Arrowhead Juvenile Center, I.S.D. 709 Teen Parent Program)
  • Hands-on session on one of the basics, like jam

Once The Cannery participants have taken a class or two they tend to feel comfortable enough to start canning on their own. We continue to loan them equipment and provide recipes, and advice. The most active time for this project is from mid-summer to late fall.