Food literacy, an essential life skill, is knowing about and feeling confident about food; making healthy food decisions and having a supportive food system, food environment, living situation, culture and tradition.
Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductees Alma Copeland (2007), Lillian McConnell (2001) and Isobel Beeler (2003) used everyday language, diverse communication efforts, practical, experiential, and various demonstration opportunities to convey complex information about food types, food equipment, and food preparation techniques to people across the Prairies.
These three home economics leaders were instrumental in seeking innovative ways to change and improve individuals and families across the West by sharing information and demonstrating practical technologies to safely choose, grow, store, prepare and enjoy food.
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Vintage power on display at Saskatchewan tractor pull
At the Ag in Motion farm show held earlier this year near Langham, Sask., a vintage tractor pull event drew pretty significant crowds of show goers, who were mostly farmers.
Isobel Beeler
Isobel Beeler, wife, mother, farm business partner, home economist and agricultural society volunteer touched the lives of many rural women and girls.
Her daughter, Donna Edwards, recalls that her mother was a kind woman with a strong sense of family and friends.
Besides raising a family and farming, Beeler, in the 1960s, conducted baking demonstrations for the co-operative system, featuring breads, buns, and other baked goods.
Later, she shared her expertise on topics like appetizers, microwaving, ethnic cooking, and fancy breads to homemakers through Carlton Trail Community College classes.
Her 32-year involvement with 4-H, community, teaching youth about family and home economics, as well as judging many of the province’s fairs and exhibitions showcased her dedication to family and rural life.
Lillian McConnell
Lillian McConnell worked at Country Guide and CFRN-TV (Edmonton) before becoming the original Saskatchewan Power Corporation’s Penny Powers.
As a home economist at SaskPower, she played key roles in rural electrification, public education, energy conservation, and lighting design while testing recipes, writing recipe books, and doing cooking and appliance demonstrations around the province. McConnell was a role model and mentor, advocate for social change, pioneering feminist, and a loving mother and wife.
Her daughter, Sheri, says “my mom was a good storyteller, which made her a good teacher and a good mentor.”
McConnell’s love of people, her belief that it was rewarding to be a part of change, her humour, and her respect for others created a great environment for women and families.
McConnell continued enabling others to act through her Farm Light and Power years until long after her retirement, operating her own consulting business and continuing to provide gardening, canning, and preserving advice on local radio call-in shows.
Alma Copeland
Alma Copeland, wife, mother, farm partner, home economist, teacher, columnist, and pulse promoter remains active today in her farm operation and community.
As a pioneer in pulse production in the province, Copeland thought it vital to educate people about pulses, so developed and tested recipes, served pulses to her family and guests, conducted pulse cooking demonstrations, and judged pulse recipes for the Sask. Pulse Growers. “I thought people needed to be eating them more if they were growing them.”
She is a willing resource for nutrition and food preparation, food preservation, and food product questions, and continues to encourage the safe handling and preparation of foods, especially those locally grown.
Dan Prefontaine
Taking food literacy one step further is SAHF Inductee Dan Prefontaine (2019). Dan, through his leadership role at the Food Centre, continues to seek innovative ways to change, grow, and transform the food industry.
“I always feel proud when someone who has used the Food Centre in a product launch or getting their first sale. It’s like seeing your children getting out on their own.”
The Food Centre’s role is to assist individuals and companies develop new food products for consumers.
Prefontaine says that over the years, the centre has developed more than 944 food products, produced a host of food and meat products and provided incubator services for companies to grow their businesses to create new products and jobs in Saskatchewan.
Linda Braun is an agricultural professional living in Saskatchewan.
