Cooking program trial setting up shop in Strathmore

Miriam Ostermann

Times Associate Editor

 

A growing demand and Alberta’s economic downturn played active motivators in the creation of a collective cooking program that aims to teach residents in Strathmore and Wheatland County about healthy, nutritious, and budget-friendly meals.
The concept of a collective kitchen – a popular initiative in Calgary that continuously experiences long wait lists – turned into a reality recently, after three community members were challenged during an interagency meeting to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to support struggling families in their communities.
Aware of community concerns of mounting bills and the staggering cost of groceries, Michelle Elaschuk, Lynn Walker, and Joanne Simpson brought to fruition Collective Cooking, which already has 21 out of the 36 spots filled for when their program launches on March 5.
“We’re seeing more and more families that have lost their jobs, they’re barely holding on to their place of residence and paying their bills, and we were encouraged to do a lot more,” said Elaschuk, a mother of three and co-creator of Collective Cooking.
“Sometimes in our rural communities we don’t have the resources that they do in the big cities. We have to go and look at things from a different perspective, to come up with some unique and creative solutions.”
Elaschuk had previously participated in similar events in Calgary and organized group cooking sessions where she noticed a significant $600-$700 decrease in monthly grocery bills. While the program in Strathmore remains a small-scale operation, for a fee of $35 per person, community members take home 10 meals, equal to $3.50 per meal.
Depending on the success of the trial on the weekend and interest sparked in Strathmore and surrounding areas, the trio plans to expand these community kitchens to other communities such as Carseland, Hussar and Standard. While anyone is welcome to participate, Elaschuk focused primarily on families in the Strathmore area, compared to Lynn Walker, co-creator and program coordinator for the Wheatland Family and Community Support Services, who’s received interest mostly from seniors and individuals in Hussar and Rockyford.
“We said it would be nice if we could just get a cooking group together where we can cook and it would be very economical and we know they are getting wholesome meals or where they’d get to network at the same time,” said Walker.
“You could get whatever you want out of it. We have one person… she says ‘I don’t cook’ and she’s coming to experience, to see what it’s like to do formal cooking in a friendly environment, where she knows people and can produce something [while] having fun.”
According to Walker, many of the recipes are taken from The Big Cook Cookbook, as well as including some of Elaschuk’s original recipes. The trial in Strathmore will include items such as pizza dough, hamburger soup, soy ginger salmon, chicken cordon bleu bake, and chili.
“I know even with two salaries it’s difficult to do everything that our kids need, and for those that have just lost jobs and have no work, food bank rations only last so long,” said Elaschuk, who’s a mother of three.
“There are a lot more kids coming to school without lunches. If we can provide education on how to shop for budget-friendly healthy meals, it benefits everyone. There was something a few years back… and then the collective kitchen just died. With the economy being the way it is and with costs rising, it’s definitely the perfect time to restart it.”
Collective Cooking will take place once a month, and is launching in Strathmore on March 5 at Hope Community Church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information or upcoming dates contact Lynn Walker at 403-934-5335.