N.C. Cooperative Extension - Brunswick County Center

06/03/2026

A cupboard full of food...but nothing for dinner. Tips for building a strategic pantry in this week's FCS column.

We’ve all been there: staring into a cabinet packed with canned vegetables, chicken noodle soup and three cans of tune….and still feel like there is absolutely nothing to eat.A versatile pantry isn’t…

05/27/2026

If you're planning on preserving food this summer, take some time now to look for tested recipes. Canning is not the time to experiment or be creative. Check out how to tell if your procedures are safe in this week's FCS News.

I know chefs and many home cooks love to be creative. Adding a little of this and a little that to a recipe to make it their own or totally inventing something new is part of the fun of cooking. But…

05/20/2026

See how we've partnered with Brunswick County Schools to show students where food comes from.

I’m so proud of my Extension colleagues and our volunteers. I have to brag. Since early this spring the staff and volunteers from our NC Cooperative Extension Service here in Brunswick County have…

05/18/2026

Tips for making salsa in this week's FCS column.

The theme for last month’s Healthy Home Cooking Club at the Rourke Library in Shallotte was homemade salsas. Avery Ashley, Family and Consumer Science Agent with the NC Cooperative Extension here in…

05/07/2026

Just because "you've always done it that way" does not necessarily mean it's safe. Check out this week's column and take the food safety quiz.

I recently spoke for a community group that requested a class on food safety. That’s my favorite topic, so I was right in my element. I told them the title of my class would be “We haven’t died,…

04/30/2026

It's getting to be that time of year....time to think about your hurricane kit. Check out our upcoming classes on those shelf stable foods you can have on-hand that would be safe and nutritious, too.

The official hurricane season starts in one month. If you haven’t done it already, it’s time to prepare your hurricane kit. There are lots of lists available for these kits and I suggest you to find…

04/24/2026

What a wonderful day at Kaleidoscope Play & Learn! 🌿💛

Fifteen parents and grandparents—along with their children and grandchildren (ages 6 months to 5 years old)—from the Smart Start Kaleidoscope Play & Learn groups joined us at the Brunswick County Cooperative Extension to learn, move, and explore healthy habits together.

The day was organized by EFNEP Nutrition Educator Angie Lawrence and featured fun, hands-on EFNEP activities including:

✨ Play-Doh knife skills
🥗 MyPlate movements and trail mix
📚 Healthy eating read-aloud
🌱 A tour of the beautiful botanical gardens—where families became little naturalists, discovering the diversity of plants and critters!

A huge thank you to our incredible team who made this day possible:

👏 Extension Master Food Volunteers: Susan Aikey-Walker, Jane Kulesza, and Ms. Margarete
👏 FCS Agent: Avery Ashley
👏 4-H Agent: Jamie Lester
👏 Natural Resources Agent: Matt Collegen

💡 About EFNEP: The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) offers FREE, hands-on classes for families to learn how to eat smart, move more, stretch their food dollars, and build healthy habits for life. Lessons include simple recipes, fun activities for kids, and practical tips you can use right away at home!

We hope to see these wonderful families continue their journey with us by joining our hands-on EFNEP classes! 💚

Thank you to everyone who joined us—we loved learning and growing with you! 🌼

04/23/2026

⭐️ Happy National Volunteer Week! ⭐️

NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Brunswick County- thank you for all you do!

🌱 With 72 volunteers contributing 7,237 volunteer hours in 2025, our Extension Master Gardener Volunteers are a vital part of expanding horticulture programming to the community! Specializing in outreach and education, whether it is working in the botanical garden, selling plants, or conducting workshops! 🌱

04/22/2026

⭐️ Happy National Volunteer Week! ⭐️
This week is Volunteer Appreciation Week, and we want to recognize our incredible Master Food Volunteers. Your time, expertise, and dedication to educating our community make this program possible. Thank you for everything you do!

04/22/2026

It's Earth Day! A good time to remember to reduce, reuse and recycle. Here's an update on what you can recycle here in Brunswick County.

About six years ago---during the COVID shutdown---I wrote a column about recycling here in Brunswick Couty. Back then I had been cleaning, sorting and taking things to the county’s landfill. At that…