UGA Extension Office

Family & Consumer Sciences

The Family and Consumer Sciences Department is here to meet the economic and social well-being of individuals and families through programs that help people extend their income, improve their health, and strengthen their personal and family relationships.

UGA Family and Consumer Sciences Extension programs place non-biased, research-based information at your fingertips. County agents and specialists throughout the state provide cutting edge knowledge on many topics, including home food preservation, parenting, personal financial management, and healthy eating habits.

The information offered by Cooperative Extension, is provided by researchers at The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and other universities across our nation.  Business, consumers and community representatives in each county identify the critical issues that Extension should address and guide the planning and delivery of these programs, some of which we can deliver in Spanish.

  Helpful Links

    Newsletters 

    Publications

  • Family and Consumer Sciences Home Page  - Educational support on topics relating to foods and nutrition, financial management, housing and parenting.
  • FACS Publications - Home Canning Information - Support on home canning under publications, other sites will be listed for support on canning as well.
  • So Easy to Preserve (Order Form) So Easy To Preserve is now a 375-page book with over 185 tested recipes, along with step by step instructions and in-depth information for both the new and experienced food preserver. Chapters include Preserving Food, Canning, Pickled Products, Jellied Fruit Products, Freezing and Drying. This 5th edition has 35 new tested recipes and processes, in addition to a new section with recommended procedures for home-canned salsas.

Radon Education

Radon is now the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Each year, 22,000 people die from lung cancer in   the U.S. as a result of indoor exposure to radon gas - 600 of them in Georgia.

Radon gas is an odorless, tasteless radioactive gas formed by the breakdown of uranium in the soil and rock beneath homes. As warm air rises in the home, it acts like a vacuum, allowing radon and other soil gases to enter through     cracks, hollow block walls, and openings around floor drains and pipes.

For radon kits and more information, visit the FCS Radon Education web site where you can download the mail order     kit form. Mail order kits sell for $10.00.

What About Radon in Well Water?

If your drinking water comes from a well or other underground source, then it could contain radon. If you have a private well, we recommend testing your air first and if that result is high, then test your drinking water. For more     information on radon in water visit the EPA website.

Thanks to funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, UGA now offers testing for radon in water.