Final Scrapbook

8/7/2019 Final Scrapbook

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la cuisine . cegin . . kitchen . . a cozinha . . la cocina . Mutfak . die kche . kitchen . KUCHY .

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On the Taste Trail:Documenting TorontosCommunity Kitchens

Shanon Zachidniak and Miriam Ahmed


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Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................1Introduction .........................................................................................................2

Community Kitchens

Hart House Social Justice Committee ..........................................................3-4Mount Dennis United Church ........................................................................5-6North York Community House (Turkish group) .............................................7-8North York Community House (Farsi group) ...............................................9-10Working Women Community Centre .......................................................11-12

Resources ..........................................................................................................13


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PrefaceIn the Sikh tradition a weekly community meal, the langar, is served after or during the religious service. The langar is open to Sikhs and non-Sikhsalike who sit together to share a common meal, usually consisting of

simple foods like flat bread, bean stew and vegetable curry. The meal isserved and enjoyed in the spirit of equality and commonality. The langar shows the power that a shared meal has in bringing people together andbreaking down differences.

Like the langar in India that brings together people from different classesand religions, community kitchens bring together people from differentcultures and beliefs. We were excited to explore the role that communitykitchens are playing in Toronto and their ability to contribute to creatinginclusive and engaged communities.

The following book depicts five community kitchen projects in Toronto. Wewanted to tell the story of each individual kitchen through the voice of itsparticipants and organizers. Care was taken to portray the reality of thekitchen, experienced by its members. Photographs, recipes, quotes andgeneral information were used to tell these stories.

On the Taste Trail:Documenting

TorontosCommunity Kitchens

Aknowledgements

We would like to thank all the community kitchens we worked with over the past four months. Your openness and enthusiasm towards our project

made this book possible. To the amazing women that shared their storieswith us: Gail, Tennur, Azer and Doreen - thank you for inspiring us andproviding inspiration to others. To the dedicated organizers whose effortsare the pillars to their kitchens success: Arlene, Karen, Zarine, Judy, Jeanand Antionette - we are so grateful for all your support and input. A bigthank you to Angela at FoodShare who provided us with contacts andresources from which we began our journey. We also want to thank our professor, Deborah Barndt and the Cultural Production class for their words of encouragement and invaluable advice - in particular Todd andAlexis, who helped us navigate the world of Illustrator!

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Introduction

We began this project with the aim to showcase the variety of communitykitchen programs in Toronto. During our documentation process, wediscovered how the community kitchen idea could be used to servedifferent purposes. We wanted to depict the power of food in bringingpeople together. In the process of sharing a meal, barriers could bebroken down and commonality found. Another aspect we wanted toexplore was the role that community kitchens can play in building stronger communities. By providing a space for meaningful relationships to form,participants built strong social networks and pooled together informationand resources. These relationships were especially important for those innewcomer and low-income areas.

Obscured by the crowds of people lining upfor MacDonalds, Noth York CommunityHouses community kitchen provides a placeto share recipes, resources and stories.

Above:The authors, Miriam andShanon, collecting researchinformation (and feasting ondelicious tabouleh)

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Hart HouseCommunity Kitchen

7 Hart House CircleUniversity of TorontoToronto, ONM5S 3H3416.978.8393e-mail:[email protected]

The Hart House Community Kitchengroup meets once a month. Eachmeeting is centred around a theme thatgenerally encouages a greater

understanding of global social justiceissues, such as Local Foods and FirstNations Food. The experience is open toapproximately 25 participants, bothstudents and the general public.

Each meeting involves instruction by aHart House chef and a presentation by aguest speaker. Participants engage in allaspects of creating a complete meal.

Participants have the opportunity tovolunteer to plan each monthlygathering by organizing the agenda,compiling a grocery list and budgeting.Anyone who is interested in thisopportunity can contact the SocialJustice Committee at:[email protected]

These community kitchens are a great way to come out for an evening, meet people, cook, learn and have fun.

Its a great place to meet other students and theres usuallystaff members who show up.

-Karen Jia-Yun CaoCommunity Kitchen PotfolioCoordinator

- Christine D'Souza, participant

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The Hart House community kitchen began in the2003-2004 school year as part of a pilot project topromote food security. In the initial stages, thefacilitators studied various community kitchen

models, brainstormed relevent cooking themes,and experimented with food costs, as well asparticipant pricing.

Building skills around food isessentially making food a prior-ity in ones life.- Arlene Stein, Staff Advisor

Carrot Soup(Serves 6)

-2 lb. carrots, peeled andchopped

-1 onion, chopped

-1 celery stalk, sliced-1 bay leaf-4 cups or 1L of water or chicken/veg stock

-1 can of 2% evaporated milk - tsp each of pepper andground nutmeg

In large saucepan, bringcarrots, onion, celery, bay

leaf and water to boil,reduce heat and simmer for 25min or until veggies arevery tender. Discard bayleaf. Puree in batches inblender or food processor until smooth. Stir inevaporated milk, pepper and nutmeg until wellblended.

The purpose of the Hart HouseSocial Justice Committee is: toconnect students and communitymembers to opportunities for

education and participation andto encourage people to getinvolved.

The Committee offers a variety ofprograms, such as: communitykitchens, the Social Justice Fair,the Green Market Fair, andworkshops.

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Mount DennisUnited Church

71 Guestville AveToronto ON M6N 4N4416.763.2893http://mountdenniscommunity.spaces.live.com/blog/

The Mount Dennis community kitchen oper-ates in one of the most at-risk neighbourhoodsin Ontario. With high rates unemployment,homelessness and drug-use, the community

greatly benefits from these spaces of hope.The weekly Friday evening gatherings providea safe environment for the neighbourhoodchildren to play and provides both them andtheir parents with opportuities to becomeengaged in community activities. Everyonepitches in, and those that enjoy cooking all gettogether in the fantastic kitchen facilities.Children get the chairs and tables set up, whileothers take part in other activities .

Members of the community also use the

social atmoshphere to share informationand resources. Neighbours can organizeshared trips to the grocery store using acar, a luxury not many have. The meetingsalso provide a space for peer support.Socializing with neighbours is an importantaspect of the program, as many in thecommunity tend to be quite isolated intheir daily lives.

When youre cooking, you dont have to worry aboutanything else that happened today, youre just

focused on what you have to do in front of you.- Antoinette, volunteer organizer

[email protected]

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And ForwardOver time, the kitchen has evolved tomeet the needs of the community.Other initiatives such as communityplay groups and air quality advocacygroups also attend and draw on thediverse member base of the kitchen.

Participants with an interest ingardening have also been able to get

approval from the church to convertflowerbeds on the property into avegetable garden that will helpreduce the kitchens grocery costs.

Looking Back When a group of women began lookingfor a kitchen to host their weekly socialgathering, they stumbled upon theamazing facilities at Mount DennisUnited Church. The church was morethan happy to allow them use of their unused kitchen space, but asked thatthe weekly meetings be opened up tothe public. From this starting point, thecommunity kitchen established itself anintegral part of the neighbourhood.

A dedictaed group ofvolunteers is instrumental to

the leadership and directionof the program. The firstFriday of every month thekids are responsible for carrying out the cookingduties while organizersattend a planning meeting.Meetings involve coming upwith creative ways to raisemoney like offering cateringservices to nearbybusinesses, and discussingground rules for participants.

Doreen and Antoinette

Dedication &Creativity

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Its very simple to speak about food in English. All newcomers can do it with a supervisors help.

- Farahnaz Ameri, participant

North York Community House(NYCH)

Farsi Kitchen

700 Lawrence Ave. WestNorth York, ONM6A 3B4416.784.0920e-mail: [email protected]

Its the hook that draws people in. Food alwaysdraws people in. -Judy Fricker,Community KitchenCoordinator

Other programs available:-English Language Instruction-Capacity & Leadership Training

-Physical Activities & Healthy Living-Settlement Services-Newcomer Information-Parenting Groups-Homework Club

NYCH offers community kitchensin a variety of languages, suchas: Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali,

and English (multiculturalgroups).

Child-minding services andtransportation support areavailable. Guest speakersattend each meeting, presentingon a variety of topics, such assafety and womens health.

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NYCH began its community kitchenprograms in 1996 after receiving trainingfrom FoodShare Toronto. The result was aninformal cooking group that provided anopportunity for socializing. Each participantpaid a small fee to cover the cost of thefood and the leftover food was dividedamongst the participants.

The group decided to become amore formalized communitykitchen because the participantswere really enjoying spending timeat the community centre andbringing food home for their

families.

In years since, NYCHs communitykitchen programs have expandedto become multi-lingual and try toincorpoarte information on other community resources.

The participants were

getting more confidence.Id refer them to other community services.They were more open.

- Amparo Escobar, Settlement Worker andprevious NYCH facilitator

Borani Esfanaaj

-fresh spinach, 1 kg-yogurt, 250 grams-2 onions, thinly sliced

-4 cloves of garlic, chopped-cooking oil-salt-black pepper

Fry onions and garlic in oil untilslightly golden. Add spinachand fry over medium heatuntil cooked. Let it cool downcompletely in the refrigerator.

Add salt and pepper to yogurtto taste and beat well until theyogurt is a free-flowing liquid.Add spinach to yogurt andmix well. The mix should bethick and homogeneous. Thisdelicious side-dish is now

ready to serve.

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Finding StrengthNorth York Community House(NYCH)

Turkish Kitchen

700 Lawrence Ave. WestNorth York, ONM6A 3B4416.784.0920e-mail: [email protected]

I really enjoy doingcooking. I have a talent with preparing food fast.- Emine Guvenc, participant

I like that men come too. They don't helpwith the kitchen, but they help with theeating. - Mujgan Karadag, participant

When Azer Karadag first moved toToronto about three years ago, shediscovered that she had an aneurism.

I lost my hope, Azer said. I had justgotten here. It was all fresh and theneverything collapsed.

After staying home to recover for threemonths, she began English languageclasses. Upon learning English, Azer became a facilitator. The Turkishcommunity kitchen program is her secondexperience with community facilitation.Her daughter, Mujgan Karadag, hasnoticed big changes in her mom sinceshe began participating in the programsat NYCH.

I have found that my mom was verychanged...she is more active. She isdoing things for other people too. Im veryhappy to see that!

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Tabouleh

-1 cup bulgar wheat-1 cup water -4 cups finely chopped parsley

-1 1/2 cups finely dicedtomatoes-1/4 cup diced green onions-1 diced cucumber For the dressing:-1/4 cup lemon juice-tomato or pepper paste-1 tbsp. vegetable/corn oil

Boil water, pour in wheat, stir,cover. Turn off heat. Letstand10-15 min. until wheat isfluffy. Add boiled water, ifnecessary, or pour offremaining liquid.To prepare dressing, mixtogether lemon juice, pasteand oil. Taste and adjustseasonings.Toss together all ingredients.

Taste and adjust seasonings.

In February, 2010 I got a job in York Community Services as a Community KitchenAnimator! Now, I am very happy and thankful for everything and especially NYCHand its staff.

I was always positive and believed myself that one day I would find oneopportunity in this field and for this reason I always put my best effort on my work. IfI did not find a job opportunity I would not say I wasted my time, because I havegained very good experience, networks, knowledge and self-esteem, languageskills, Canadian experience in NYCH and than I could transfer those skills andexperience wherever I want.

Just choose your target whatever you do love and put your best effort on it and tryto be patient and you will find your dream somewhere that is hiding!

-Tennur Makarnaci

When I came to Toronto, in August 2006, I did notknow anyone. I met one of my Turkish friends,

Ilknur, and she advised me to volunteer in NYCHsince volunteering was important in Canada.

I finished my training program in May 2007 andfelt very confident and found lots of friends andconnections there. After this I also participated ina Community Kitchen Leadership Trainingprogram. I was offered a Turkish Cook and Talk Program in NYCH.

Since 2008, I have participated in a few moretraining programs and as a facilitator in someprograms. When I looked at back at what I havealready done, I have a pretty good experience inmy hand. I could apply for job postings whichwere related with my experience.

Dreaming Big

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Working WomenCommunity Centre

North York East Centre

5 Fairview Mall Drive, Suite 478Toronto ON M2J 2Z1416.494.7978www.workingwomencc.org

Community Kitchen Location1-15, 2-10 Field SparrowayToronto

ContactZarine [email protected]

The Toronto Community Housings LeslieFinch development has had a history ofviolence and crime. A new buildingrepresentative and programs were

established to enhance communityrelationships. Since the inception of theprogram, residents feel that the ties withinthe community have been strengthenedand their sense of safety has improved.

The neighbourhood is very diverse,creating barriers to communication

amongst neighbours. Participants say thekitchen program has helped themovercome language barriers by offeringother ways to communicate with oneanother. The weekly meetings create asense of commonality and a basis for building stronger relationships.

If I hold a general meeting, no one shows up. I come to the kitchen every week to interact with residents andget input on the types of needs they have.

- Rui Saude, Building Representative

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Gails Story

- Belqes, participant

Chinese NewYears Menu

------------

Fried riceShrimp stir fry withoyster sauceGreen salad

------------Red bean soup

Sesame rice balls

I love coming to talk to other people and try new foods.Ive already made some of the recipes at home.

Learning to fly:With funding expiring for the community kitchenproject, the participants will be applying for

funding directly. WWCC believes in a self-sustaining strategy for the long-term success ofthis program and looks forward to playing asupportive role with the kitchen.

The kitchen is looking to expand by offeringworkshops during weekly meetings that focuson building personal and professional skills.

Gail has been coming toweekly kitchen gatheringssince its early days. She enjoyscoming to socialize withneighbours and has met manyof her friends through thekitchen. She obtained her Food Handling Certificatethrough a workshop at thekitchen. The skills she gainedand a useful contact shemade through the kitchen,allowed her to find a good job.

Gail has taken on a leadershiprole with the kitchen. She is incharge of the kitchen keysand opens and locks up thekitchen each week.

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Looking for more information on

community kitchens?In Canada:

http://www.foodshare.net/kitchen07.htmhttp://www.communitykitchens.ca/main/http://www.wrha.mb.ca/healthinfo/prohealth/nutrition/files/Nutrition_3.pdf http://www.bcics.org/node/154http://kec.peacecountry.com/reports/documents/community_kitchens_manual.pdf http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/publications/litreview.bestpracticescommunitykitchens.pdf

Internationally:

http://www.communitykitchens.org.uk/

http://www.bcics.org/node/153http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com/home.htmlhttp://www.communitykitchens.org.au/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langar_%28Sikhism%29

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