All Saints Community Kitchen

This community kitchen started a few years ago. It initially began as a program offered once per week but the program has since expanded and it is now offered Monday to Friday from 4-6pm.

Target

The All Saints community kitchen is open to all but it focuses on individuals who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. It is open to new participants and there are no requirements for membership. Twelve to fifteen people attend each evening.

Location

The program takes place in the kitchen in the basement of All Saints. The Kitchen is very large and there is a dining area and a separate sitting area – both are bright and welcoming.

Operation

The menu for the community kitchen is prepared a month in advance by Edie, one of the two coordinators of the program. The coordinators aim to make the meals as healthy as possible, knowing that for many of the participants it is the only meal they will eat for that day. The food for the program is donated from Second Harvest and the Daily Bread Food Bank.

As the participants arrive they sign up for tasks to help in preparing the meal. The tasks involve work around preparing, serving, and cleaning up after the meal. The task sign up sheet was introduced because the program experienced some difficulties in ensuring everyone helped out in the preparation of the meal. So far, the task sheet is working well. When participants experience difficulty in completing certain tasks they quickly receive support and guidance from the program coordinators and fellow program participants, and eventually everything gets done and the meal is ready to be shared.

When the community kitchen first started the participants did not eat at All Saints but took the meal home. Eventually, the program coordinators realized that an important aspect of the program was the socialization. It seemed logical to provide a space where participants could share and enjoy a meal together. Now the meal is eaten at All Saints and participants rarely take food home. There is no fee for the program.

According to the program coordinators the sharing of food as a group has played an important role in breaking down many of the barriers and divisions that once existed between some of the program participants. The program has evolved from a place where people argued to one where participants are calm and relaxed. However, the support and conflict resolution skills of the program coordinators are still necessary.

Benefits

The regularity at which the program is offered allows the participants to have a bit of stability in their often unstable lives. It also allows the program to be more conducive for skill development and the building of social support networks.

FURTHER QUESTIONS