Community Kitchens Grow, Cook, Share!
Acknowledgement of Country We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we stand today and pay our respects to their Elders both past and present.
Facilitator Training Session Outline What is a Community Kitchen? Group Facilitation Morning Tea Healthy Eating Food Safety Planning to save money
What is a Community Kitchen? A Community Kitchen is a group of people who meet regularly at a community based venue to prepare and share healthy meals together.
COMMUNITY KITCHENS MODEL 6-8 participants + 2 facilitators Meet weekly or fortnightly at a community venue Plan together All financially contribute (eg, $5/week) The group plans together what they will cook and what they need Cook All participants are involved in cooking Share The meal is eaten together or taken home to share with family
History of Community Kitchens Model developed in Canada Started in Frankston, Australia 2004 Rolled out Australia wide 2006/07 Approximately 100 kitchens registered on CK website 19 kitchens across Frankston & Mornington Peninsula Supported by Peninsula Health
Benefits Build knowledge and skills to plan and prepare healthy meals Increase access to healthy food Provide an opportunity for social connection and community participation Develop a sense of community around food Connect people through food.
Kitchen Stories
Kids in the Kitchen
Frankston Men s Shed Kitchen
Group Facilitation
Facilitators Role Promote the Community Kitchens philosophy Welcome and support new participants Encourage group members to work well together Encourage active participation of all members Record keeping Set up kitchen if required and ensure it is left clean and tidy Organise and coordinate the planning and cooking and allocation of tasks Promote healthy eating in recipe choices
Developing Group Guidelines Ask what they need to feel comfortable and safe How would they like to be treated? What do they need to make the group run smoothly? Create a list of guidelines from this that are agreed on Review the guidelines as new members join the group
Managing conflict within the Kitchen Deal with it BEFORE it blows out of proportion Make sure all group members feel safe Focus on the issue at hand Avoid assumptions Make sure the outcome is understood and agreed to by both parties and to all other group members Use the experience to update group guidelines
How would you encourage participation? Ask participants to nominate themselves for tasks in the recipe Chose recipes that require enough preparation for everyone Identify natural leaders to help new group members Make sure participants aren t doing the same tasks every week Involve participants in administrative tasks
Morning tea break
Healthy Eating
Why do we eat food? Hunger Enjoyment!!! Social interaction Health & wellbeing Celebration Religious significance
Grain foods Rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereal, couscous, polenta, lentils and legumes Choose grainy options Try to have 4-6 serves a day
Fruits and Vegetables Try to have 5 serves of vegetables a day Try to have 2 serves of fruit a day
Dairy and Alternatives Milk, yoghurt, cheese, custard or calcium-fortified soy alternatives. Choose low fat versions Try to have 2-4 serves a day
Meat and Alternatives Beef, lamb, pork, poultry, seafood, fish, nuts, lentils and legumes, eggs Choose lean options 2-3 serves per day
Extra Foods Special occasion foods such as chocolate, cake, lollies, biscuits, soft drink. Fats and oils Provide energy but little or no other nutrients Not very helpful for a body that is working hard! Try to limit these as much as possible
So how do I put this all together?
Activity 1 You have been given food items, which group would you put them in? Would you consider them to be better choices? Breads and Cereals Fruit Veggies Meat Dairy Extra
Making recipes healthier Sometimes our favourite recipes don t include many of the better choices we have been speaking about. So what can we do about that? We can MODIFY the recipes to make them BETTER!
Better Recipes Ingredients Use low fat ingredients instead of higher fat versions (ie. Low fat cheese or milk). Reduce the amount of high fat food (ie. Reduce the amount of margarine in a muffin recipe). Reduce the amount of sugar (ie add in dried fruit for natural sweetness) Add in bran or use half wholemeal flour to increase fibre content of meal.
Better Recipes Ingredients Reduce the amount of meat to 100-120g per person. Use herbs and spices instead of salt. Add in legumes to pasta sauces, casseroles, stir fry dishes, salads, even cake and muffin mixtures! Legumes are a great source of protein and gentle carbohydrate. They help to bulk out meals to save you money! Add vegetables everywhere you can! Frozen or fresh!
Better Recipes Cooking methods Use low fat or no fat cooking whenever possible: Non-stick cookware Stir frying Grilling BBQing Baking (without the fat!) Dry roasting Microwaving
Better Recipes Cooking methods After browning mince, drain the fat from the pan and/or blot the mince on paper towel. To remove extra fat from casseroles/soups, chill the meal to allow the fat to rise to the top. Then simply scrape it off. Avoid boiling vegetables. This decreases the vitamin content of the vegies. Steam, stir fry or microwave vegies to preserve vitamins. Eat as many raw vegetables or lightly cooked vegetables as you can. The longer vegetables are cooked, the more vitamins are destroyed.
How can we use this? Keep in mind the food groups and the number of serves Make vegetables a part of every meal Include fruit with desserts and snacks Modify unhealthy recipes to make them healthier Use healthy cooking methods
Food Safety
The Danger Zone Bacteria die Avoid keeping food in the temperature danger zone of 5 C - 60 C Bacteria grow Bacteria stop growing 17.
Remember the 2/4 hour rule Less than 2 hours Must be refrigerated or used immediately More than 2 hours, less than 4 hours Must be used immediately More than 4 hours Must be THROWN OUT IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!
Which foods are most likely to cause food poisoning if cooked or stored incorrectly? a) Meatloaf b) Chicken c) Rice salad d) Pasta salad e) All of the above
FOOD SAFETY Key Messages - Shopping Inspect products Check temperatures Ensure no breakages Check use by date Pick up hot, chilled and frozen foods last Use chiller bags Keep the car clean Take shopping home ASAP
FOOD SAFETY Key Messages Storing Food Check dates of pantry items if in doubt, throw it out Store raw chicken and meat below dairy and eggs in the fridge Put labels with dates on frozen food Store leftover cooked food in the fridge/freezer as soon as they have stopped steaming Refrigerated meals must be eaten within two days Never refreeze food
WASHING HANDS HOW Wet hands Add soap Lather 20-30 seconds Rinse Dry with paper towel WHEN AFTER: Using the toilet Blowing your nose Sneezing / coughing Handling rubbish or chemicals Handling raw food BEFORE Handling Food
Planning
Planning to save money Look at what you have already Think about using seasonal food it is often cheaper Look at specials advertised Think about raw ingredients rather than prepared foods Make a shopping list, this prevents buying on impulse Consider growing produce
Cooking from scratch Cooking with raw ingredients rather than buying readymade saves money Serve meals with more vegetables or grains and cereals to provide more bulk to meals Cut down on meat, 100g per person as recommended Replace some or all of the meat with chicken or tofu or chickpeas or red kidney beans
Shopping tips More expensive products are placed at eye level while cheaper no name products may be higher up or lower down. Use the stoop & rise method. Does anyone have any tips?
Storing food What are some good items to keep in your pantry, fridge and freezer?
CK Resources Website: www.communitykitchens.org.au Budgeting booklet DVD Training Support
Contact details: Suzanne Quinn Ph: 9784 8483 squinn@phcn.vic.gov.au or www.communitykitchens.org.au