Dr Elizabeth Andress

Elizabeth Andress, former Project Director at the National Center for Home Food Preservation

Elizabeth Andress was instrumental in the creation of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and was its project director and champion from 1999 to December 2020, when she retired.

She wore several hats.

At the University of Georgia one of her titles was “Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist.” She was a professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia, and an extension food safety specialist. ^[1]University of Georgia, Focus on Faculty: Elizabeth Andress. 29 Sept. 2013.  Accessed September 2016.

She provided leadership in home food preservation, consumer foods and food safety, as well as food service sanitation by “developing or identifying curricula and resources, providing in-service training for educators and assisting with evaluating the outcomes and impacts.” ^[2]Ibid.

She taught various courses to students at the University, and at the NCHFP, coordinated a network of teams around the country conducting applied research for home food preservation as funding permitted.

Wearing her extension specialist hat, she taught food preservation workshops direct to consumers.

In terms of publications for consumers, she was the:

• co-author of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Complete Guide to Home Canning”;
• co-editor “So Easy to Preserve”;
• co-producer of “So Easy to Preserve” video series.

Perhaps one of the main outcomes of her work was to “apply science to the everyday handling of food in practical terms.” ^[3]University of Georgia, Focus on Faculty: Elizabeth Andress. 29 Sept. 2013.  Accessed September 2016.. She said,

“The research I conduct is very applied and related mostly to my extension programming in home food preservation. Our findings get released on our website, and in our books and fact sheets, and therefore are immediately known to and used by consumers and other educators.”  ^[4]Ibid.

University of Georgia video featuring Dr Andress

University of Georgia video

University of Georgia video

Education

• BA from Albright College in Reading, Penn;
• MS in family and child development from Virginia Tech;
• Ph.D. in food science from Penn State University.

Work history

• Andress got her start in the 1980s when the USDA needed someone to review for it the history and scientific basis of its home canning recommendations. She was part of a team tasked with doing so headed by Dr Gerald Kuhn from Penn State.
• Before 1989, she worked at the University of Florida.
• 1989 – Came to the University of Georgia to work as an assistant professor, and extension specialist
• 1991 to 1994 – went to Washington, DC, to work at the USDA as a national program leader for food science with the Extension Service-USDA
• 1994 returned to University of Georgia to teach and has been there since.

Awards and honours

In 2007, she was awarded the Outstanding Engagement Award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

In 2012, she was presented with the National Award for Excellence in Extension. ^[5]Horton, Denise H. Dr. Elizabeth Andress Receives National Award for Excellence in Extension. 26 November 2012. Accessed September 2016.

She has also received other extension and public service programs such as Outreach Faculty Award, D.W. Brooks Award, the Walter B. Hill Award and Hill Fellow Award.

Some quotes

“Too many people probably consider themselves experts about food safety based on their own experiences. I like being able to teach people that there are scientific principles at play that can be learned and then generalized to other situations to help in their decision-making.” ^[6]University of Georgia, Focus on Faculty: Elizabeth Andress. 29 Sept. 2013.  Accessed September 2016.

“My mentors taught me the importance of professional ethics, perseverance and hard work as well as making my contributions matter to individuals and communities.” ^[7]Ibid.

Have a look at her legacy over at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

See also: Dr Gerald D. Kuhn

Dr Andress with Shelley Feist, Executive Director at Partnership for Food Safety Education, July 2021.