Give a family food, you feed them for a day
Teach a family to cook, you feed them for generations
- Short on food?
- Money tight?
- Save Money
- Make Friends
- Provide Nutritious Meals
- Have Fun Cooking!
Come join us at Cowichan Community Kitchens.
What is a Community Kitchen?
A Community Kitchen is a safe, empowering environment where diverse groups of people can come together to learn and share skills of budgeting, planning, shopping, and cooking healthy meals to take home to their families
Once a month a group of 6 - 8 of people gather to prepare 3-5 nutritious meals for their families.
The first get together is a short planning Session. During this time, the group:
- Decides on recipes,
- Makes a shopping list,
- Calculates the cost of the groceries and
- Determines who will do the shopping
The second meeting is on the cooking day. It is usually the week after the planning session. This time the group members:
- Cook all the meals,
- Divide the food to take home,
- Have lunch,
- Clean the kitchen,
- Set date for next session
Cooking may take place in a public kitchen such as a church, fire hall, community centre, or even a home kitchen. Each kitchen is unique and is directed by the Participants needs. Meals cost approximately $1.50 for four meals.
Why are community kitchens formed?
Community kitchens provide relief from financial, nutritional, and social challenges. Through bulk purchasing and large-quantity food preparation, participation is both cost-effective and time efficient. In general, menu items cater to the varied desires and needs of each kitchen's membership-singles, families, single parents, people with disabilities, youth and seniors.
Kitchens also provide an atmosphere in which members form and nurture social ties, developing and/or strengthening a sense of community.
How are community kitchens formed and operated?
The formation and operation of community kitchens varies widely across communities and cultures and is dependent on the membership. Each organization requires a well-equipped kitchen or a “magic box” of kitchen equipment that can be moved to each kitchen.
Willing participants, initial/or consistent core funding, and dedicated facilitators are key to a kitchens success. Cooking groups may either require financial contributions from their participants, receive funding from an external source or a combination of both. Members participate in menu planning, shopping, and meal preparation. See “Kitchen Manual” for steps towards establishing a community kitchen
Sharing Lunch
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