The Extension Master Food Volunteer
program was started to help agents with
food programming in their counties.
I really love being a master food volunteer because there's so many things you can learn.
I really want to help the community I want to be out there and I want to
give back to society so this kind of gives me a push.
We have made a
difference in their lives
and they passed it on that's the best
part is each one teach one.  Yeah I like that.
The Extension Master Food Volunteer
program provides formal training to
volunteers in the areas of cooking
nutrition food safety and local food
volunteers are trained by Cooperative
Extension Family and Consumer Science
agents so that they can support
community-based programs examples of
Cooperative Extension programs include
nutrition education classes for youth
adults and seniors cooking
demonstrations at farmer's markets food
pantries schools childcare centers and
other community sites educational booths
at health fairs food preservation
classes and more volunteers receive
rigorous training to ensure that they
are prepared to assist with these
programs and so that they can answer
community members food and health
related questions one of the problems I
really love is the Kids program that we
do call me healthy I really love that
weather to see the kids try new foods
and sometimes they go through it and
they will eat the whole thing if I know
oh I like this I said good you're
looking at different products you're
looking at you know farm-to-table you're
looking at things that are locally grown
and it makes you more aware of what's
available and then that information then
you impart to other people and hopefully
get them to make better choices with
their foods the Extension Master food
volunteer program consists of 30 hours
of training in the core curriculum which
covers all of the basics and family and
consumer sciences volunteers are then
required to shadow their supervising
agent for 30 hours and complete 20 hours
of service and
hours of continuing education a year
it's like you're almost looking at a
small degree I felt that the NC
Extension group did a really good job of
communicating the information helping us
to understand what the goals are it's
not just that you know they're there to
volunteer and to give back to the
community but it's also that they're
learning something new so the other
community members they're like well I
want to learn more I think that being
out there in the community it makes a
difference one person at a time and you
may not reach every person but if you
reach one or two people you're making a
difference in their lives now I can do
more before it was just me and now
because I can reach more people to them
and also I can get more participants to
my programs because they are always
talking about what we do and what kind
of programs we offer it I enjoy it I
really do
you
