Annotated Bibliography

Other Community Kitchen resources and info can be found in our online RESOURCE LIBRARY

Publications alphabetically by author

Brockest, B., Lynch-Vogelzang, S. Cooking Healthy Together Program Manual. Toronto Public Health. 1998.

This manual provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up a Cooking Healthy Together Program. The Cooking Healthy Together Program has been used by a number of community kitchen programs. Cooking Healthy Together is a food skill nutrition program that teaches healthy cooking methods in the community. The manual is used for training community leaders who will provide the program in their community. The manual contains nine lessons plans that are broken down by type of recipe, for example, soups & stews, pasta, or stir fries. Each lesson includes learning objectives, activities, resources and key teaching points regarding food preparation, food safety, budgeting, and nutrition. The primary emphasis of the program is “experiential learning and moving participants along a continuum towards healthier food practices”. The program is supported by Toronto Public Health.

Centre for Integrated Agricultural Systems. Research Brief #54 – Community Kitchens: key elements of success.

This research brief describes a type of community kitchen in the United States that are often also referred to as Kitchen Incubators. These community kitchens provide an inexpensive industrial equipped kitchen space. These community kitchens allow farmers to reap the benefits of selling value-added products. The community kitchens provide a unique environment where ideas can be shared while boosting the local economy.

The factors that make a successful community kitchen are outlined in this brief. They include setting clear goals, ensuring committed leadership and developing solid plans for long-term profitability. The goals of the community kitchen will vary depending whether they are organized by non-profits organizations, for-profit companies, universities or state governments.

Financial support is described as a number one factor to consider in the development of a community kitchen. Some community kitchens are able to survive quite well from rental fees charged to the “customers” of the kitchen, while other community kitchens find it necessary to ensure a source of supportive funding.

The research brief concludes that thorough market research, combined with committed management and accurate technical advice will lead to the development of a successful community kitchen that will boost the local economy and strengthen the local community.

Crawford, S., Kalina, L. Building Food Security Through Health Promotion: Community kitchens. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association. 1997;58(4):197-201

This article describes a how the principles of health promotion were used to develop, implement and evaluate a community kitchen program in British Columbia. The goal of the program was to offer participants the opportunity to improve their nutrition knowledge, budgeting, shopping and food preparation skills in a mutually supportive environment. This article is useful for health professionals interested in gaining a greater understanding of how the principles of health promotion can be used to develop effective community development programs.

Evaluations of the program indicated that after the first two years of the program the number of barriers associated with participating in community kitchens had decreased and participant’s knowledge of nutrition, cooking skills, and shopping and budgeting had increased. Some participants indicated that they had developed personal money saving and shopping strategies. Mutual aid was an important benefit of community kitchen involvement.

The article concludes that “community kitchens do not alleviate poverty, but do provide an approach that enhances food-related knowledge and skills while building strong social support, mutual aid and community connectedness”.

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Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Health. Community Kitchens: Taking affordable action on healthy eating.

This easy to read manual provides an overview of the benefits of community kitchens. It outlines a step by step method for how to run a community kitchen and offers helpful hints and reminders such as “consider seasonality when selecting recipes”. The manual includes a number of useful “lists” that provide information on locating funding sources, and how to cook healthy food on a budget. The manual is best suited for those who are interested in starting a community kitchen and are looking for advice on how to do it. It unfortunately does not provide references or advice on getting further information.

Kamploops FoodShare. Community Kitchens- Leader’s Guide- Practical information for starting and running a community kitchen. Kamploops, 1993.

This is helpful, easy to use guide provides all the information you need to become a successful community kitchen leader. It outlines what a community kitchen is, how to go about setting up a community kitchen, and how to effectively operate a community kitchen. The guide is packed with helpful advice on food safety issues, promotion ideas, fundraising initiatives, and evaluation processes.

The Leader’s Guide is complimented by a Cookbook and Shopping Guide. This guide makes menu planning, recipe conversion, and shopping a breeze. Healthy eating on a budget is a primary focus of all the recipes included in the guide.

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Lind, A., Farmelo, M. Sharing the Costs of Social Reproduction: Communal Kitchens in Lima, Peru. UNRISD. 1996.

This article explains how the community kitchen movement developed in Peru. It is useful for anyone looking for background on the history of the community kitchen movement in Latin America. The article explains how the movement began as a result of a drastic increase in poverty, caused by a number of factors including the implementation of inadequately developed structural adjustment programs. To survive women developed community kitchens - a self-help solution to reduce poverty and hunger. The success of the movement is a reflection of the strength of the broader “popular” women’s movement in Peru.

Despite the many benefits and the great support that community kitchens receive, some researchers believe that as community kitchens become more accepted and assisted an exacerbation of social inequalities occurs. They argue that community kitchens act as a solution that does not cause social change. They argue that the gains women have made through participation in community kitchens, such as increased awareness around gender issues, are not enough to improve the lives of women in a significant way. They conclude that community kitchens distract from focusing on the fundamental policy changes that are required to improve the lives of all Peruvians.

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Marquis, S., Thomson, C., Murray A. Assisting people with a low income: To start and maintain their own community kitchens. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2001;62(3):130-132.

This article outlines the development of a community kitchen program designed to help low-income people to facilitate their own cooking groups. The program is known as Q’wlut tu ciciut (“My Parents Are Cooking”). The 20 week program is facilitated by a trained peer counsellor and a dietitian. Before the program began three questions were answered:
1. What are the participant’s food and nutrition goals?
2. What are the participant’s skills and strengths?
3. How can these skills be built upon?
This was seen to be a major advantage of the program. Another advantage of the program was the peer-trainer format. After the 20 week program participants recruited friends and family members to form their own cooking groups.

Evaluations of the program indicated that the program had many of the same benefits as other community kitchens such as, socialization, peer support, increased nutrition knowledge, increased variety of foods used, and improved cooking, shopping and budgeting skills. As well a number of participants were able to find employment in food related fields as a result of their participation in the program. It is likely that the Q’wlut tu ciciut program model can be adapted to be used by any interested group.

This article provides helpful information on a unique community kitchen framework. It would be useful for health professionals or those interested in learning more about how the peer-trainer format and how the needs-assessment process can be used successfully in community development programs.

McCooey, S.J. More Power to the Cooks –Women join community kitchens to share food and end up sharing their lives. Canadian Living. January 1993: 26-33.

By featuring a very successful community kitchen known as the Sizzling Sisters this article briefly describes the history and benefits of the community kitchen movement in Canada. The article outlines some of the many factors that have contributed to the popularity of the cooking groups. One of most important is the supportive and friendly environments they create. The women who participate in the groups value the bonds that form between participants. They appreciate the savings that can be experienced through bulk buying, and the new ideas that can be gained through the exchange of recipes and the teaching of new cooking skills.

Community kitchens in Quebec have provided a unique way for people new to Quebec to learn French. Newcomers to Quebec have teamed up with French-speaking people who are interested in learning more about cooking. Community kitchens provide an enjoyable way for people with dietary restrictions to share and learn and new recipes from individuals in similar situations.

This article provides a refreshing look at the many benefits of community kitchens and finishes up with a sampling of a number of favourite recipes from the Sizzling Sisters and “How to List” for setting up your own community kitchen.

Tarasuk, V. A Critical Examination of Community-Based Responses to Household Food Insecurity in Canada. Health Education and Behaviour. 2001;28(4):487-499.

The history of the community response to food insecurity in Canada is examined in this article. It outlines how, as a response to the inadequacy of food banks, community organizations introduced a variety of community development initiatives. These programs focus on self-help, mutual support, community empowerment and enhancing knowledge of number of food skills. The authors note that food banks originated in the voluntary or charitable sector, whereas the community development projects tend to develop in the publicly funded health or social services sector. This is seen as a problem because the origins of community kitchens are within the state and they are therefore not likely to challenge the state and advocate for the fundamental changes required to realize food security for all.

The article wraps up by summarizing the findings of a study that was conducted to gain an understanding of the capacity of community kitchens to alter food insecurity among the very poor. The results indicate community kitchen’s have little or no actual impact on augmenting household resources, or skill building. The authors argue that the positive impact some participants may experience in terms of mutual support occur despite the food component of the program and not because of it.

The author states that although community development initiatives can lead to reduced social isolation, individual empowerment is not enough. Without a real transfer of resources, community development initiatives will have no lasting effect on enhancing household food security. “More work is needed to identify strategies that will ameliorate problems of inadequate access to food…The most effective responses to household food insecurity are not those that focus on food and food-related behaviours but rather those that lessen economic constraints on poor households”.

The article concludes by suggesting community development initiatives from different communities need to pool their resources and develop partnerships that will facilitate collective action around policy issues. More energy needs be focused on advocacy or social action. Extra-governmental organizations must become more involved in the food security movement.

Tarasuk, V. A Qualitative Study of Community Kitchens as a Response to Income-Related Food Insecurity. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 1999;60(1):11-16.

In this article Tarasuk reports on a qualitative study conducted in Toronto involving ten community kitchens. Community kitchens recently emerged in Canada as important strategy to address hunger. Although many health professionals and governmental organizations are involved in the operation community kitchens, very limited research has been conducted to assess the actual impact of community kitchens. This study sought to examine the potential of community kitchens to enhance food security among those with constrained resources.

Concern that participating in subsidized community kitchens could become stigmatized, the way visiting food banks has become, was expressed. However, it was noted that the participatory aspect of community kitchens sets them apart from food banks and reduces the risk of this occurring. Community kitchens do not publicize that they are subsidized and many are universal programs, this further reduces the risk of stigmatization.

The results indicate that unless programs are subsidized they are inaccessible to people living on very limited budgets and are thus ineffective in reducing food insecurity. Many programs that are subsidized are offered on such a limited basis their ability to truly impact the food budget is quite limited. The authors note that the greatest benefit of community kitchens is their ability to support social interaction.

The author concludes that to have an effective impact of food insecurity community kitchens must be subsidized, have skilled group facilitation and individual-level support. Program facilitators must also take a lead role in advocacy to bring about the fundamental policy changes that are required to in reduce poverty.

Tognon, C., Barnaby, K., Collis, D., Robertson, A., Corrigan, E. Many Hands Community Kitchens share their Best. Community Kitchens Publishing. British Columbia. 1999.

This is a useful guide that provides all the information you need to set up a successful community kitchen, plus wonderful recipes, plus personal notes on the positive effects community kitchens can have on communities and individuals. The community kitchen movement is expanding in Canada and with that so is the diversity of kitchens. Kitchens are set up for many different reasons, some examples provided in the book are kitchens for vegetarians, kitchens for people who are living with diabetes, kitchens for new immigrants, and kitchens for seniors.

The guide provides a great deal of information including, advice on how to start a community kitchen, nutrition in the kitchen, food safety, helpful measurement charts and recipe substitutions. The recipes have all be tested in community kitchens and are ranked, easy, medium skill and difficult.

The authors acknowledge that many community kitchens were originally started due to the cost savings that could be experienced from buying and cooking in bulk, but now community kitchens are more often being set up because of the social interaction they provide. For what ever the reason a community kitchen is starting up this book will provide some helpful advice and inspiration.

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Wilson, D. Starting with Stomachs; In Lima’s most impoverished neighbourhoods, communal kitchens are survival organizations. Alternatives Journal. 2002;28(2):30-31.

This article provides historical background on the development of communal kitchens in Lima, Peru. The article explains that communal kitchens are just one of many initiatives that have developed in Lima as a local response to poverty in the context of political corruption, instability and inadequate provision of social services by the government.

The debate around the benefit of communal kitchens is presented; advocates for communal kitchens argue that they empower women by allowing them to develop organizational and practical skills, and promote self-reliance for basic needs. They argue that communal kitchens play an important role in the development of community cohesion.

Opponents of communal kitchens argue that they do not represent a long-term solution to poverty and merely provide a temporary fix to hunger. The article describes how Lind and Farmelo argue that members of communal kitchens are not challenging the state and pushing for essential fundamental institutional change. Others suggest that the kitchen take pressure off governments to provide for everyone’s basic needs.

The article concludes by indicating that the debate around the benefits of communal kitchens continues today and it is still to be determined whether “women involved in the kitchens are being empowered or exploited”. One thing is for sure - the kitchens are providing the comfort of at least one hot meal each day.