Nov. 26—LAKE ANDES, S.D. — What began as an offhand comment about canning apples has grown into a multi-community effort to teach practical skills, strengthen food security and revive a sense of self-reliance across Charles Mix County.
The idea took shape earlier this year, after Jacque Johnson — who serves as the Older Adult Resource Network project coordinator for LSS of South Dakota — walked into a local restaurant and mentioned she spent the day canning apples, apple butter and pie filling. The comment sparked immediate interest. The restaurant owner’s wife told Johnson she wanted to learn to can and suspected many others did, too.
“That got our wheels turning,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who has been canning for nearly 50 years, brought the idea to Becky Beeson with SDSU Extension and Mary Jo Parker, the longtime Lake Andes librarian who leads the Lake Andes Food and Wellness Council and manages the community garden. The conversation quickly expanded to include the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the Rural Office of Community Services and Wagner Area Growth.
“All these organizations were doing pieces of this work, but no one had put it all together,” Johnson said. “We wondered if we could pool our resources and offer something meaningful to help people address food insecurity.”
The result was Preserve and Prosper, a volunteer-driven effort offering hands-on workshops in gardening, canning and other food-preservation skills.
Organizer experience runs deep, something that helped shape the effort from the beginning. Johnson first learned how to can from a friend who taught her how to make jelly and now jokes she’ll preserve anything that doesn’t move. Parker began canning as a 4-H member around age 10 and later taught the skills as a home economics and family and consumer science teacher. Beeson has canned for about 25 years, learning primarily from her grandmother. Fellow organizer Carol Pesicka has been canning off and on for about 30 years.
To gauge interest, organizers held open houses in Lake Andes, Wagner and Marty in March and April. They worried turnout might be light. Instead, each event filled up. Participants wanted to learn everything from starting seeds to water-bath canning to preparing healthier meals. A seed-starting activity at each open house proved especially popular.
Workshops followed soon after.
The sessions are primarily taught by Leah Antelope, a Lake Andes community member and farmers market vendor. Johnson said Antelope is the team member most comfortable with the water-bath procedures used for the chosen recipes, and her conversational teaching style helps put participants at ease.
The first class in June focused on making salsa. Because the group’s water-bath canner can only hold eight jars at a time, sessions were intentionally small — a limitation that quickly became an asset. Participants chopped vegetables, filled jars and processed them themselves, asking questions throughout. Interest was strong enough that organizers ran three separate sessions to accommodate all 24 registrants.
“We didn’t just have people sit and listen,” Johnson said. “This was hands-on. We wanted them to do the actual work and learn to do everything safely.”
More than 30 people signed up for the August dill-pickle workshop — enough to prompt a waiting list — followed by a chokecherry jelly class in September. In all, organizers estimate more than 40 people took part in the nine workshop sessions held this year.
Organizers say participants range widely in experience.
“We have a good variety of folks that have canned their whole lives, others who have never canned, and plenty in the middle of the road,” Johnson said.
Even lifelong preservers have picked up something new. Beeson, despite her decades of experience, said she learned helpful tips and tricks during the sessions.
“Even your most seasoned food preserver can learn something,” Beeson said.
The group’s collaborative model — blending decades of experience — help ensure the workshops reinforce safe practices while introducing techniques useful to both beginners and longtime canners.
Safety has been a major focus as renewed interest in food preservation overlaps with rising grocery costs. Beeson said participants often want to know not just how to can food, but why certain steps matter. She said today’s trend is part nostalgia, part economics and part curiosity.
“People are more in touch with what’s going into their food,” she said. “And from the food-insecurity side, this is huge. Anything we can do to give people knowledge and power to do these things for themselves matters.”
Parker emphasizes using tested recipes, proper processing times and basic steps like handwashing.
“Safety is important every step of the way,” she said.
To strengthen its instructional base, Preserve and Prosper has begun incorporating SDSU Extension’s Master Food Preserver volunteers into sessions. A grant is being written to expand that pool of trained helpers.
Community impact has emerged quickly. The Lake Andes community garden — long underused — saw a 700% increase in activity this year. Parker said that translated into significantly more plots being used, more families participating and more produce harvested. The Lake Andes Public Library now circulates canning kits like books, giving residents access to equipment they may not own.
Survey feedback from workshop participants has been overwhelmingly positive, aside from one recurring complaint: the sessions weren’t long enough. Organizers have already added more time.
The program operates free to participants, thanks to donated supplies, shared equipment and support from partner organizations. Many tools came from earlier grants secured by the Lake Andes Food and Wellness Council and other groups, allowing Preserve and Prosper to function with almost no budget.
The group plans to meet this winter to map out next year’s activities and is awaiting word on a Beyond Ideas Grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation. Interest from participants points to possibilities for future workshops beyond water-bath canning — including pressure-canning, dehydrating, freezing, backyard chickens, beekeeping and expanded gardening instruction.
“We’re really just getting started,” Johnson said. “People want to learn how to grow and preserve their own food. When you can do that, you’re better able to weather whatever comes your way.”
Preserve and Prosper expects to restart workshops in early 2026, beginning with indoor seed-starting and other early-season skills.
