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Canning jars now in demandPROVO, Utah (AP)--The global economic crisis appears to be spiking interest in canning and preserving in Utah Valley, driving people to ask their neighbors for garden excess and causing a shortage of canning supplies. "People are not letting their jars go for anything," said Hope McCumber of Lehi, who started canning for the first time this year and has been stymied by a lack of jars. "They are impossible to find in the stores this year. One day last week I called 21 grocery stores in Utah Valley asking for quart jars." Unused canning jars were once the bane of Utah Valley yard sales, with owners sometimes finding it hard to even give the empty jars away. Today, that has all changed, said Holly Richardson of Pleasant Grove, a certified master food preserver with the Utah County Extension Service. No one is offering jars this year, she said. "I have seen fewer available on Freecycle (a local website that allows people to give unwanted items to neighbors), fewer at garage sales, fewer in the thrift stores and while anecdotal, it certainly seems as if there are more people trying their hand at canning this year than ever before," Richardson said. "I've turned into a canning and preserving freak-show this year," said Samantha Walker of Lehi. "There are no more jars left in the store--just checked at Albertsons again today. The lady two people ahead of me in line got the last two quart jar boxes. Ultimately, I want to be able to cut back on our grocery bill this winter." Some canners say the economy has sparked the food preserving interest in more people. "Yes, this heightened interest in canning this year was motivated by the economy," said Karen Dupaix, a Lehi mother of seven who moved this year, leaving behind a garden and fruit trees, prompting her to use the local Freecycle group to find fruit to can. "I have had absolutely no response to my three requests for fruit to can," she said. "Maybe one effect of the declining economy is that folks don't want to share their produce as much." Amber Lowell of Provo said she took up canning this year for the first time, asking her mother in Pleasant Grove, who had not canned in several years, to teach her. "We feel it is wise to have a lot of food storage for tough times," Lowell said. "I am newly married and we are canning because it is good food storage and because it is cheaper than purchasing canned goods. I do know that no stores have jars left, and we have been looking for people giving or selling jars. We need more and we have had no luck finding any, which makes us think more people are canning." In an interview Oct. 24, Stephanie Shih, national spokeswoman for Ball Jars, said the Utah Valley spike is not isolated. Nationally, demand for Ball food preserving products has spiked 30 percent this year, and customers as far away as New York have had trouble finding jars as demand grows. Sales of large Ball jars have jumped nearly 40 percent, and sales of Ball plastic freezer containers have doubled. A recent survey of 1,800 people by the company found "that more than 70 percent of respondents intend to preserve more foods this year in an effort to save money on weekly groceries," she said. A spokeswoman for Associated Foods confirmed that local business in canning supplies has been brisk, with jars especially in high demand. McCumber said for her family the whole operation has been about financial security. McCumber has cancer and is unable to afford health insurance. Having never canned before, in the past month, under the tutelage of a friend, she has put up an impressive store, surrounding the living room stereo and filling part of a bookcase with pickles, tomatoes, salsa, purple and white grape juice, peaches, pear sauce, myriad jams, plum juice, "and next week I'm doing apple pie filling." Best of all, using Freecycle, McCumber said she has not paid for a single fruit or vegetable, though she has had to travel around north Utah County to pick fruit. The enterprise has paid off in surprising ways. McCumber was able to use some of her canned goods and freezer jams to barter for a very reduced price on bulk beef and chicken, and has filled a freezer with 400 pounds of meat. Between dozens of jars of canned goods, a freezer full of frozen fruits and vegetables, and another freezer full of meat, she feels more confident that should her health take a turn for the worse, her husband and children will have food to eat. The family's budget is very tight, she said. There is very little room for financial error, or unexpected expenses. Canning food is security. Walker said canning is helping her family toward a goal of being debt free. "There is nothing like the satisfaction of knowing exactly what ingredients and what quality of produce went into your sealed jars, then getting to look at them all neatly lined up in the pantry," said Walker. "We are also trying to be prudent with our budget this year and actively knocking out our debt." Walker said so far she has put up 42 quarts of tomatoes, 20 two-cup bags of homemade spaghetti sauce for the freezer, another 20 bags of frozen homemade tomato soup, 24 4-oz. jars of chili sauce, a dozen jars of salsa, pickles, green bean salad, plum jam, plum chutney and two dozen half-pints of jalapeno jelly--"which will make excellent low-cost Christmas gifts. "Have you ever had jalapeno jelly on crackers with cheese? If not, you are missing out on one of the finer things in life." "I thought I was done," she continued, "but then I went to the Thanksgiving Point farmers market and I got two boxes of peaches. I did two batches of vanilla cinnamon peach jam, then froze a dozen bags of sugared peaches. I have plans to (serve) beans once a week, and use tomato-based sauces at least once a week--after all, I have 42 quarts to go through until next summer." Her family will also eat elk this winter, she said. Richardson said she has been canning because "I certainly believe in being prepared and not relying on 'them' to help me when times are tough, be it the government, my neighbors, my church, etc. Food prices have skyrocketed and canning, along with gardening, is a way for us to save on our food bill, not to mention how good things taste." To that end, Richardson said she now has a storeroom stocked with canned food, "and over the winter will can meat and beans. "Don't be scared by canning. It's fun, it's easy, although time-consuming, and it's a great family work project. Start with jams--they're pretty forgiving and darn good. "Follow USDA guidelines to stay safe. Can with friends and family--it really lightens the work load. Don't be bashful--take pictures of your hard work and share them. Enjoy the fruits of your labors all winter. It is so worth it." 11/3/08 Date: 10/30/08 Advertisement
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