My name is Marlene Suzuki. I became a Master Food Preserver in 2025. I grew up in Pennsylvania and watched my grandma can jars of tomatoes and other vegetables from her garden. We always went to grandma’s house to get something tasty from her pantry and garden.
I just visited back east for my 50-year class reunion and this brought up a lot of memories of my childhood days pulling weeds and eating fresh vegetables from the garden. This is something I want my grandchildren to enjoy at my home here in Santa Monica.
My husband was Japanese and knew how to preserve and ferment everything you could think of. He would even make his own tofu and natto. I still have some of his preserved foods in the refrigerator and garage. He passed away 2 years ago. After he passed, I realized I would now have to take up his role of preserving. He was an Energy Healing minister and daily gave healing to the garden.
Across the street from our home is a learning garden. I see so much food wasted because people don’t know what to do with it. The farmer’s market vendors donate leftover cases of food and the city also gets food from government-funded programs and leaves it at the garden for the neighbors.
First thing every morning, I greet my own garden and pets with a healing hand of energy. Just checking in to see if they will have any needs for the day, i.e., pest or water issues. Once you have the tastiest fruits and vegetables, you want to preserve them for later use. One of the main reasons I became a Master Food Preserver was to be able to preserve the cases of food that our local learning garden receives from the farmer’s market and teach others how to preserve.
My husband always was trying to create a paradise-on-Earth atmosphere. We would try and help people get healthier. With good food, people would have a better chance of healing and not getting sick in the first place. We believed without sickness, poverty and conflict would disappear. I’m trying to continue his mission of creating paradise on Earth, making healthy food preservation available to all.