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Community Kitchen Roundtable Schedule

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

This is a great way to learn what’s going on internationally with ck’s and learn some great tips too.

COMMUNITY KITCHEN ROUNDTABLES

These free, two hour roundtables are an opportunity to meet other community kitchen leaders, to share and hear about other kitchen activities, challenges & successes.  Come to our Vancouver office to participate in person or particpate remotely via teleconferencing.  Teleconferencing for BC residents will be covered.   Review the notes from previous Roundtables on our blog site.

Upcoming Dates/Times:

  • Thurs, Jan 12, 2012  10:00 am – 12:00 pm
  • Thurs, June 14, 2012  10:00 am – 12:00 pm

To register:  Contact Shona Lam at shonal@foodbank.bc.ca.   Although it is a free workshop, we kindly ask that you register so that we know who will be in attendance.

Location: Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, 1150 Raymur Ave. Vancouver, BC  or participate remotely via phone.

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Save Money on Food at the SPU Community Kitchen!

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Join neighbors and students to cook 6 different dishes. Eat a 3-course meal, and take home 3 other prepared dishes ($50-$70 value).

Have fun, improve your cooking skills and share ideas, skills, recipes, and inspiration.

Learn to use seasonal fruits and vegetables for easy, inexpensive & healthy meals.

Everything is provided: recipes, equipment, instruction, and fresh delicious ingredients.

Free childcare is also available upon request.

Our Community Kitchen is specifically for neighbors in the community who have limited income.

Cost: between $10 and $20 (as you can afford, depending on your income)

When: The second Wednesday of every month, 6pm to 9pm

Where: SPU Campus in North Queen Anne – 3307 3rd Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119 

Interested? Call 206.378.5409 or email spukitchen@gmail.com

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New Study Shows Better Access to Grocery Stores Don’t Result in Healthier Diets

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

From the LA Times here’s another article that underlines the importance of cooking!

Better access to supermarkets — long touted as a way to curb obesity in low-income neighborhoods — doesn’t improve people’s diets, according to new research. The study, which tracked thousands of people in several large cities for 15 years, found that people didn’t eat more fruits and vegetables when they had supermarkets available in their neighborhoods.  More…

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January Wallingford CK – Special Guest Coming!

Monday, January 10th, 2011

From Wallyhood here’s news on the upcoming Wallingford ck:

Sustainable Wallingford’s Rachel Duboff has given us the deets about the first Wallingford Community Kitchen of 2011. And get this: gifted chef and local cooking instructor Patrice Savery will be on hand to assist in the preparation of some truly Southern menu items.  (Yes, “Southern” is capitalized & always should be.)

The menu includes Johnny cakes, black eyed peas, braised greens, and sweet potato pie.  Yum!

  • When: Friday, January 14 from  5:30pm to 9pm
  • Where: Wallingford Community Senior Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Room 140 Seattle, WA
  • Cost: $9.99 pre-registration fee, $15 at the door

More…

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Tips on Doing a Great CK

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Here are suggestions from Vulcan’s community kitchen in Alberta, Canada on how to get a great community kitchen going.

Community kitchens can be a great way of growing a positive food culture and building local community. Vulcan’s Community Kitchen had its start about a year ago, and in the process we’ve learned a few things about how to get a kitchen group going. Here are some steps we went through:
· Building a team: Starting with a coalition of people can ensure that the kitchen initiative has a strong and supportive base, such that it is sustainable. Establishing a group can also ensure that ideas and strategies are bounced around and built on.
· Finding a facility and scoping it out: We use a recreation complex in town, to which we are luckily given free access. Churches often have kitchen facilities, as do high schools and other community group facilities. When looking for a facility, keep in mind the need for counter space and multiple elements. Once you’ve settled on a spot, a checklist of utensils and dishes you might require could be handy. If you have access to some funding, consider purchasing the essentials that are missing from your kitchen (thrift stores are great for sticking to shoestring budgets).
· Getting the word out there: We’ve gradually gotten to know the key poster spots around town, and become familiar with community newsletters. We keep a contact list of kitchen attendees, and get in touch when a new session is around the corner. Keeping a blog with the recipes used and relevant details can also be helpful (ours is www.vulcancooks.blogspot.com).
· Figuring out a format that works for the group, and being flexible: Initially, we were meeting first to select recipes, make budgets and do some planning, and then a week later we were cooking. While this created a great inclusive meal-planning process, the format that has worked better for our members is to get straight to the cooking, and to plan for next time as we cook. We received some funding through various food producers associations, and we have therefore decided to keep the meal price steady around $2.00 per serving. Cooks register for each individual kitchen session as it arises, and decide beforehand how many servings they will be making, such that the coordinator can make a budget. The format of your kitchen sessions can really depend on the needs and wants of the kitchen participants.
· On that note, it is important to be open to feedback throughout the process. Maybe there are some people who would more easily participate if a group babysitting arrangement were made, or if car-pooling happened. Making your kitchen nights as accessible as possible helps ensure there is a diverse range of participants.
· A few things to bring: print-out’s of budget-making sheets and recipe sheets, a couple calculators, enough pens to go around, and a few recipe books to flip through can really help your recipe planning process. On cooking nights, we usually bring some research on the nutritional pros and cons of the meal ahead.
· Sharing the leadership role: It has been very positive for our kitchen group to rotate recipe leaders. This way, community members get to be in the driver’s seat.
Whether your kitchen nights involve passionate discussions of food system reform, or are just great get-togethers involving food, community kitchens can add flavour to your community and are part of supporting local food security. Enjoy your meals!

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Canning Classes Starting Up

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Summer In A Jar teaches safe food preservation methods: canning, drying, freezing, quick pickling and fermentation.   Additionally, we offer an invitation to remember, or taste for the first time, honest, fresh, flavorful food in season.  We teach how to put up the current seasonal crop so it’s available the next winter and how to weave the bounty of your pantry into workable daily menus.  There’s a rhythm to it that looks different in every home but the invisible thread that holds it all together is an affirmation to choose healthy, real food, sustainably grown to nourish our families.

Summer In A Jar’s spring class schedule is eagerly awaiting the first fruits of this season…rhubarb and asparagus.  Get signed up for these early season classes so you’re all in shape when the produce really starts to pour in.  More…

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Community Kitchen Tool Kit

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Here are forms, outreach materials, letters and tracking logs that may be useful as you set up your kitchen:

ck forms

ck forms two

ck forms three

ck forms four

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Food Safety in Community Kitchens

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Food Safety

Ten Tips to Ensure Food Safety in Your Community Kitchen

1. Prevent contamination of food with your hands! Be sure to wash hands before you start any food preparation.  Wash again after touching your nose or mouth, after handling raw meats, before you touch foods that will not be cooked, and when returning from the bathroom or a break. Singing “Happy Birthday” two times while you wash is the right amount of time.

2. Designate a hand washing only sink! This keeps people from contaminating food being prepared in the food preparation sinks or dishes in the dishwashing sink.

3. Start by setting up the dishwashing sinks first! The three sinks should be soapy wash water, hot rinse water, and cold sanitizing water that has a teaspoon of bleach to each gallon of water.  Make sure all the participants understand when and how to wash dishes so that you minimize the risk of cross contamination after working with raw meats or raw vegetables.

4. Treat your ingredients properly! Transfer cold food to the fridge immediately so that it stays cold, less than 40°F.  Store prepared foods at the top of the fridge.  Raw meats and poultry should be stored on a bottom shelf and in containers to prevent dripping of juices on other foods.

5. Designate separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and seafood and for fresh produce! Wash, rinse and sanitize the cutting boards between each use.  Remember that even vegetables can harbor bacteria that can make people sick.

6. Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables before preparing by rinsing under running tap water.  Take extra care to make sure melons are scrubbed and kept cold at all times.

7. Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, microwave or under constantly running cold water. Do not thaw foods on the countertop.

8. 145°/155°/165°:  Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure raw meats are cooked thoroughly.  145°: fish/pork, 155°: ground beef, 165°: poultry

9. Avoid the Danger Zone! Keep cold foods below 40 degrees and hot foods heated above 140 degrees.  Cool foods properly so that they move through the danger zone quickly. Cut large pieces of meat into smaller pieces.  Pour soups and other thick foods into shallow pans no more than 2 inches deep to cool quickly.  Chill in the refrigerator or stir over an ice bath.

10. Discard leftover marinades, breading and batters after they have touched raw foods.

If you want even more food safety info, check out WSU’s publication – You Can Prevent Foodborne Illness

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36 Free Menu Planning Tools

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Here are a ton of great meal planning tools from the “Cheap, Healthy, Good” blog.  I’m going to print some of these out and give them a try.  Would love to hear if you find them helpful.

As with war, politics, and solving a Scooby Doo mystery, when it comes to saving cash and eating well, nothing is more important than having a plan. Grocery lists keep you from blowing dough on extraneous stuff. Price books give you the best possible food costs. Menu planners ensure you’re not scrambling to put dinner on the table, thus preventing dangerous bouts of crazy.

My own time-tested system combines a half-baked price book, hastily scrawled grocery lists, and yelling, “HON?! What are you in the mood for?” It works for now, but I’m thinking of going the pen-and-paper route.   More

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Vancouver B.C. CK Round Table

Friday, January 15th, 2010

This free, two hour roundtable is an opportunity to meet other CK leaders, to share and hear about other kitchen activities, challenges & successes.  No registration required.

Date/Time: Thurs, March 4, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Vancouver Food Bank, 1150 Raymur Ave. (Click here for directions)

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