Virtual reality training aims to reduce foodborne illness

Virginia Tech researchers are developing virtual reality experiences to help extension agents teach farmers, farmers market managers about food safety. This really is a partnership between our Food Science and Technology Department at Virginia Tech extension, North Carolina State University as well as RTI, which has Research Triangle Institute. And they really led the charge in taking the content that we developed at the university and really turning it into a virtual reality that you could put on your head. Users will step into a virtual farm and farmers market, where they move through spaces while learning how to reduce the risk foodborne illness. As an extension educator, we know that people learn best by doing or experiencing whatever it is that we're trying to teach them. This is why these goggles with this experience. So important and so vital because sometimes they're at very small farmers markets wherever you may not have a really great learning opportunity for them. They may be brand new producers who've never been to a farmers market before. And this is a great way for them to see some of the things that we've told them about in class. But now they can put this on and really visually experienced everything that we're trying to emphasize to them. Extension agents will use the VR program in training and outreach across the Commonwealth. As we move into winter and spring, that's when all the growers do all of their meetings to ramp up and get ready for spring growing season. That's when we anticipate really starting to use these. As we're looking at the global food supply and what's going on across the United States and around the world that's so important that we do support local as we're able and buy from our local farmers. And really know that this is why we have these programs in place for these farmers to go through to make sure that we can provide a very safe, high-quality food for them to be able to eat.