HMS teacher participates in D.C. food training

Homewood Middle School teacher Briana Morton was one of 32 teachers nationwide chosen to complete a food science training program place in Washington, D.C., this summer.

The one-week program for middle and high school science teachers, as well as family and consumer science and health education teachers, is a partnership between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and Graduate School USA.

The goal of the program is to educate teachers and students about critical food safety issues such as foodborne illnesses by exploring the science behind them. The program arms teachers with a unique topic and curriculum with which to teach science.

“Many teenage students have jobs in the food service industry or have food preparation responsibilities at home,” said Louise Dickerson, FDA’s Project Manager for the Professional Development Program in Food Science. “This program will better educate them about the importance of handling food safely and why precautions must be taken. From FDA’s perspective, our professional development program for teachers is an effective way to support our goal of reducing the incidence of foodborne illness in this country.”  

During the training, participants learned firsthand about the development and spread of foodborne illnesses; the vulnerability of at-risk populations; and the science behind safe food handling, storage, and preparation. These teachers also learned how to better use the nutrition facts label to assess the nutritional value of foods. In addition, the teachers talked with scientists from FDA and conducted laboratory experiments at the University of Maryland to further increase their understanding of food science.