The UC Master Food Preserver (MFP) program is a perfect combination of my passion for teaching and for food (playing with it and eating it)! I had never heard of Master Food Preservers until my husband discovered the inaugural Online Delivery Program training and suggested we both apply. That 2024 training was to conclude just as I retired from decades of teaching law, so the timing was auspicious.
My parents immigrated to Texas from China in 1948 as young college students. My father soon found his graduate degree in political science less useful than kitchen skills, as he worked through a series of restaurants and the hospitality industry to support his new family. We didn’t garden or can; however, our chest freezer in the garage was always stuffed with everything from holiday-sale hams to homemade wontons.
It’s fair to say I inherited that tendency to hoard food, and my shelves have long been crowded with dried fungi, seaweed, fruits, and other foraged, scavenged, and rescued harvests. My kefir colony, kombucha SCOBY, and sourdough starters are faithful pets (although only the starter has a name). Canning, however, has been a new frontier.
The far-ranging MFP training tickled my tastebuds and my nerdy nerve endings as I learned more methods of food preservation. I loved learning science-based rules and redirecting my veneration of process from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to safe food preservation. This knowledge is particularly essential today, as the internet and social media become overrun with nonsense and AI slop.
Even better than the MFP training, upon graduation I joined a diverse and joyful cohort of online-delivery volunteers who introduced me to new recipes, technology, culture, and management skills as we built a new program. I’ve mainly worked with the team creating online classes—starting with a 2024 persimmon series where I learned hoshigaki drying from a classmate.
My fellow ODP volunteers inspire with their energy and patience, embody generosity, and make me laugh. With each new class, we grow and learn together.
I am nearing my first 1,000 MFP volunteer hours. When I’m not being an MFP volunteer, I serve on the boards of the ACLU and my county library foundation, teach yoga as a RYT-200, and frequent ukulele jams.