Extension Master Food Volunteer Jane Fevurly, center, demonstrates how to properly cut up fruits and vegetables during Cooking 101 class, which is held in the fall each year. After master food volunteers are certified, they help instruct courses with K-State Research and Extension — Douglas County.

If proper food safety protocols aren’t followed in a nonprofit organization providing food to large numbers of people, it could potentially be tragic.

That’s one reason, Susan Johnson said, it’s important for volunteers to know proper practices, and it’s why food safety is a point she drives home in the K-State Research and Extension Master Food Volunteer Program.

“People can get sick. A lot of times they might think they just have a 24-hour flu bug, but then those with compromised immune systems can become deathly ill if (food prep volunteers) are not handling their food properly,” said Johnson, the nutrition, health and safety educator with the program. “And actually, there are many deaths in the nation a year from food-borne illness.”

The Extension Master Food Volunteer Program, now in its 10th year, aims to provide volunteers with a strong foundation of knowledge about food safety and preservation, cooking and nutrition.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, there were 16 cases of campylobacteriosis, a common food-borne illness, in Douglas County in 2015 and 641 in the state. There were also 11 cases of salmonella in the county and 502 statewide.

“Those figures are definitely underreported figures, as well, because those are the ones that actually were tested and diagnosed,” Johnson explained.

In the program, participants receive about 40 hours of hands-on training. They also commit to giving back at least 40 hours of approved service to the community, Johnson said.

That volunteer work can be nearly anything, she said — some volunteers have worked on food preparation; some choose to give presentations or teach classes; some man tables and educate others at health fairs.

Grace Marion, center, Douglas County Extension Master Food Volunteer, instructs Cooking 101 participants how to properly measure ingredients for baked products. After master food volunteers are certified, they help instruct courses with K-State Research and Extension — Douglas County.

“We really want to match their interests to what is needed in the community, so really, the sky’s the limit, as long as it’s approved,” Johnson said.

The program goes beyond the initial training sessions, though. Once master food volunteers complete the course and are certified, they can also teach basic cooking classes and participate in activities the group plans.

The group also meets monthly, Johnson said. Although those meetings aren’t required, they’re often of interest to members of the group. For example, Johnson cited a presentation that Mary Locniskar, president of the program for this year, gave on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

“I went through and in as simple of terms as I could make very complicated genetics, I showed them what a genetically modified food was and how you insert a gene into DNA to make that trait, or provide new traits,” said Locniskar, who completed the program in 2013 and has a background in nutritional biochemistry and metabolism.

Locniskar said with her presentation, she was simply trying to educate with the facts — not say whether GMOs are good or bad — and as a scientist, she appreciates that the program is all research-based.

Left to right, Barbara Wilson, Mary Locniskar and Wendy Carmody, all of Douglas County, receive hands-on experience on making an egg white foam and meringue during the 2013 Extension Master Food Volunteer Training held at K-State Olathe.

“We deal with real food and real information that people can trust,” she said.

Barbara Wilson, who also completed the training in 2013 after she retired from her career as a staff dietitian with Kansas University Dining, said she learned more about localized food, organic farming and what farmers have to deal with.

Since she completed the program, Wilson said, she’s done work at health fairs for adults as well as kids. At one event, she showed kids how to “eat like a rainbow,” identifying and tasting different fruits of every color of the rainbow.

Johnson is currently accepting applications for the next session of the Extension Master Food Volunteer Program. The original deadline was set for Friday, but she said she can accept applications up until Feb. 9 for those who are interested in participating.

Training will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays in February and March at K-State Olathe, 22201 W. Innovation Drive, Olathe. The $75 cost of the classes covers notebooks, supplies, an apron and a name badge.

To register for the program, call the K-State Research and Extension — Douglas County Office at 785-843-7058 or visit douglas.ksu.edu. For more information, Johnson can be reached at susanjohnson@ksu.edu.