Cole Imperi, a volunteer in the UC Master Food Preserver (MFP) Online Program and resident of Los Angeles County, shared her journey into food preservation and community engagement. Imperi first learned to can food after starting a backyard garden at her home near the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. Faced with an abundance of heirloom tomatoes, she and her husband began preserving them out of necessity.
She recounted, “The first time I canned anything was the second summer after I bought my first house a few blocks from the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. I had set up a big backyard garden comprised entirely of heirloom tomatoes, and discovered what happens at the end of a prolific growing season—pounds and pounds of tomatoes that need to be brought inside and dealt with before the first frost.”
Imperi’s introduction to canning expanded when a neighbor gave her peaches to preserve. She said, “The second thing I ever canned was pickled peaches. My neighbor that lived caddywhompus to us had two peach trees. Exasperated, he showed up at my back fence and dropped two big black garbage bags full of peaches into my backyard and said DO SOMETHING WITH THESE. They became pickled peaches.”
However, Imperi noted that her motivation for joining the MFP program was rooted not just in food preservation but also in her professional background as a thanatologist—the study of death, dying, grief, and loss. She explained how grief connects people through shared experiences around food: “In all my years doing this work, I’ve noticed that grievers (and those who love them) tend to congregate around places where transformation happens. Gardens and kitchens are places of transformation… Food is often a container for things that are hard to say with words alone.”
After completing the MFP training program in June 2025, Imperi sent homemade preserved foods to family members across the country as expressions of connection during times apart: “We were really packing up boxes of food that said, ‘I miss you’ and ‘I miss sharing meals with you.'”
Community involvement is another key aspect for Imperi. As someone new to Los Angeles, she values giving back: “For someone who’s a transplant to Los Angeles, it’s important to me to give back to a community that has embraced and welcomed me and helped me find a sense of ‘home’ here, too.”
Imperi also highlighted how food preservation links people with their heritage: “When my fellow Master Food Preservers offer classes to the public, one of the most common questions we get are from attendees who say something like: ‘My Grandma used to can, can I use her recipes?’ For a lot of people, canning and food preservation in general touch on memories… even if they’ve passed on.” She added about recipe safety: “(And by the way, the answer to that common question is ‘probably not’. You can still can tomatoes (or whatever it was that Grandma did), it’s just that we know a lot more about food safety these days…)”
Reflecting on her experience with MFP training, Imperi stated: “The MFP program was exceptionally rigorous, and it completely transformed my relationship to my kitchen. I’m a better cook just in general because of the program, and it made me a better gardener too. It’s rewarding to be able to contribute to my community in this way.”
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), which oversees programs like MFP, operates offices throughout all 58 California counties along with nine Research and Extension Centers serving as living laboratories across diverse ecosystems (https://ucanr.edu/). The organization is affiliated with the University of California system (https://ucanr.edu/) and applies university expertise statewide through research initiatives aimed at supporting communities (https://ucanr.edu/). UC ANR has provided science-based practices for over 100 years—including nutrition education—and works collaboratively on farming improvements, environmental conservation efforts such as wildfire protection, youth education programs, as well as maintaining research facilities across California (https://ucanr.edu/).
Glenda Humiston serves as vice president for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (https://ucanr.edu/).
Imperi encourages others from diverse backgrounds to consider volunteering: “I’d highly recommend this program to anyone who has even a tiny interest—we need more people from more backgrounds and experiences to join our crew. While I came to the program by way of thanatology, maybe you’ll find your way here because of your own unique background and experiences.”