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Assessed multi-course certificate · non-accredited

Food Growing & Preservation

Use source-backed kitchen, garden and preservation records to plan a small household food system. Growing evidence follows actual seasonal conditions.

3 courses. One defined path.

Follow the required courses in order. Audit study is available with Academy membership; assessed enrollment adds evidence review and the program’s progression rules.

  1. Safe Food at Home

    Course 1 of 3 · Beginner · 18 lessons · about 18 h

  2. Your First Food Garden and Small Farm

    Course 2 of 3 · Beginner · 27 lessons · about 27 h

  3. Home Canning and Food Preservation

    Course 3 of 3 · Intermediate · 12 lessons · about 12 h

What you’ll work toward

  • Safe kitchen and pantry records
  • Garden and small-farm pilot
  • Source-backed preservation record
  • Integrate the course evidence in a reviewed capstone.

Assessment & pacing

Each assessed lesson opens at least 2 days after the previous lesson is completed. Required assessment checkpoints also need approval before you continue.

Plan for about 15 weeks at 4 study hours per week, based on approximately 57 hours of course study. Allow extra time for revisions.

The minimum assessed practice period is 24 weeks. Studying faster does not bypass lesson waits or required approvals.

The assessed enrollment has a 420-day completion window from its recorded start. The clock pauses while submitted work waits for review. You can request a free extension if you need more time. Membership study remains self-paced while access is active. Paying or marking a lesson complete does not prove proficiency.

How an assessment passes

Each skill is scored from 0 to 4. You need at least 3 on every essential skill and at least 80% overall. Missing evidence must be resolved before approval. Feedback explains what to improve, and you can submit a revised attempt.

To earn the program award, complete the whole course bundle, required quiz passes, approved assignments, final project, and practice period. The school confirms the award separately.

Assessment 1 · portfolio

Safe kitchen and pantry records

Build your kitchen-safety section with temperature, storage and meal-planning records. Send the records and explain what you would keep or discard during an outage.

Detailed assignment instructions

Submit the actual thermometer/temperature card, cooked-meal records, leftover labels, freezer inventory, outage decisions, allergy/cross-contact card and menu/pantry rotation plan.

See assessment criteria
  • Required result (35%) · essential
    The kitchen records meet the authored safe-food brief.
  • Sound decisions (30%) · essential
    Temperatures, outage choices and cross-contact decisions follow the source guidance.
  • Evidence and checks (25%) · essential
    Include dated records and a changed-outage scenario.
  • Explanation and revision (10%)
    Explain a corrected decision.

Assessment 2 · portfolio

Garden and small-farm pilot

Start a small growing project and keep records as the season allows. Send your site and soil notes, growing logs, season plan and budget.

Detailed assignment instructions

Submit the actual sun map, soil report, compost/growing/watering/scouting/harvest logs, seedling or pilot-bed record, season plan, layout and seasonal budget. Explain local conditions and seasonal limits.

See assessment criteria
  • Required result (35%) · essential
    The binder documents the authored growing pilot and planning tasks.
  • Sound decisions (30%) · essential
    Choices reflect soil, sun, water, season and observed conditions.
  • Evidence and checks (25%) · essential
    Supply dated observations and a supported revision.
  • Explanation and revision (10%)
    Explain what the records can and cannot establish.

Assessment 3 · portfolio

Source-backed preservation record

Prepare the food-preservation binder from the course. Send the recipe source, process record, labels and a real or permitted practice batch log.

Detailed assignment instructions

Submit the actual method chart, filled NCHFP recipe/process record, real or rehearsed boiling-water batch log, labels, storage map and suspect-jar decision card. Include the source and recipe/version; do not substitute untested canning recipes.

See assessment criteria
  • Required result (35%) · essential
    The preservation binder follows the authored source-based brief.
  • Sound decisions (30%) · essential
    Method, recipe and process decisions follow the cited guidance.
  • Evidence and checks (25%) · essential
    Records distinguish actual practice from permitted rehearsal and include labels/decisions.
  • Explanation and revision (10%)
    Explain a rejected unsafe choice.

Assessment 4 · capstone · video evidence

Food-system walkthrough and scenario

Show how your kitchen, garden and preservation plans fit together. Send a YouTube walkthrough and explain a harvest, outage or suspect-jar problem.

Detailed assignment instructions

Provide a YouTube walkthrough connecting your kitchen records, actual garden/season evidence and approved preservation/rehearsal record. Respond to a changed harvest, outage or suspect-jar scenario using the supplied guidance. A human reviewer checks practical records and safe decisions; yield claims or tasting are not required.

See assessment criteria
  • Safe practice (35%) · essential
    The authorized human reviewer confirms consent, supervision where required, safe scope and appropriate stop or withdrawal decisions. Unsafe or unapproved performance cannot pass.
  • Demonstrated task (30%) · essential
    The walkthrough integrates kitchen, growing and preservation records.
  • Scenario judgment (25%) · essential
    The changed scenario preserves source-based food safety and honest seasonal limits.
  • Reflection (10%)
    Explain a limitation, correction and sensible next practice step.

School recognition, clearly defined

A non-accredited Cloud Forest school award based on reviewed evidence. It is not a degree, professional license or guarantee of employment. Martial rank requires the authorized examiner's approval.

Historical completion awards remain part of a student’s record. New assessed recognition requires the program’s reviewed evidence and approval.