Food waste is a problem that complicates efforts to feed a growing world. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted.

Home food preservation is an important strategy for reducing food waste and saving food from a time of plenty for a time of need. Fresh produce is plentiful at this time of year, so many families are looking to freeze, can, or dehydrate food to save it for later.

Kansas State University and the University of Missouri Extension services have teamed up to produce some new resources to help cooks safely capture the tastes of the summer to enjoy well past the growing season.

A series of 17 new instructional videos is now available to teach the safety principles and latest techniques for high-quality home food preservation. Each brief video is a reliable review of the topic in seven minutes or less. You can find the videos on the K-State Research and Extension food preservation website at www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation or on the K-State YouTube channel at http://tinyurl.com/j2beqfk.

Another KSU-MU partnership is a new food preservation newsletter for Extension agents which is published six times a year. Consumers can find archived issues of the newsletter at the Extension food preservation website listed above.

New this year, too, is the availability of Extension preservation information in Spanish. Ten publications on safe home food preservation have been translated into Spanish and are now available on the Extension food preservation website.

Another local Extension resource on food preservation is returning with new information. Back for a second year is my “Canners Corner” series on Tuesdays in the Hays Daily News. This series of brief articles about home canning debuted on the Tuesday food page last fall and was recognized with a regional Extension communication award. I’ll start the series again next week and we’ll print 7 or 8 articles as the canning season continues through the fall. Watch for “Canners Corner” food preservation tips inside the canning jar graphic in the Tuesday newspaper through early October.

This is the time of year when gardens, farms and orchards are producing their best. Peaches are starting to come into season and melons are appearing in farmer’s markets and produce stands. Fresh vegetables like cucumbers are available to make into pickles and sweet corn is being picked. Summer squash such as zucchini and yellow squash are ready, and tomatoes are starting to ripen to eat fresh or to preserve.

Don’t let this delicious fresh produce go to waste. If you’re interested in knowing more about food preservation, check out these new Extension resources or contact the Ellis County Extension Office for questions or more information.