Farm to Pantry: Community Canning Event

Let’s Preserve-- a Community Canning event sponsored by the Soroptimists of Healdsburg in coordination with Farm to Pantry will be held on Saturday, October 20 from 9am-4pm at the Villa Annex Kitchen at Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg.

This will be a day to remember with Merrilee Olson of CAM FoodWorks lending her expertise to lead newcomers and inspire experienced hands in this traditional culinary skill. At noon we’ll take a break from our tasks to have fun over a potluck lunch. At day’s end the jars of freshly preserved tomatoes will be ferried to the Healdsburg Food Pantry for distribution over the coming months.

Everyone who has surplus tomatoes in their gardens is invited and encouraged to share their bounty for this event.

Tomatoes should be dropped off in advance at the Healdsburg Food Pantry 1505 Healdsburg Avenue on Friday, October 19th from 9am-4pm.

Those who have old quart canning jars in the basement or attic can help too, by dropping them off in advance at the Food Pantry during the same hours so they can be washed, sterilized and re-used.

The Canning will be done in two overlapping “shifts”: 9am-1pm and 12pm-4pm so that volunteers can choose to come for all or part of the day.

Come to tell your past canning stories and to create new ones with your neighbors! The results of our labors will be “preserving a skill” and “preserving our community” and of course, preserving tomatoes for our local food pantry and the families in our community that are in need of a good meal!

We are also looking for volunteers to transport tomatoes, jars, and neighbors to the Villa Annex Kitchen.