Sixteen families have joined together to purchase a Dry Pack Canner/Sealer for use at the Community Connections Center. The machine is a Senior Master Flywheel with a hand crank. Currently we can only use the #10 cans (approximately the size of a 3 lb coffee can). This enables us to preserve extra harvest that is dried. For instance, I had an abundance of cabbage this year that I ended up drying for additions to soup. I had about10 Ziploc bags full that would take me awhile to use. When I preserve the dried cabbage in the #10 cans it gives me a shelf life of approximately 20 years. Buying in bulk is another way to save and help our meager dollars go farther. Not all of us have large families and perhaps we could not use it up before the shelf life expires. Sealing the product in #10 cans increases the shelf life of many products up to 30 years. So far we have sealed about 800 cans through our machine. It is available for use by anyone in the community for a small donation of .50 per can for upkeep of the machine. Contact Sandi Everson (509) 732-8847 for availability of the machine.
