Parry Sound’s Senior Community Kitchen project helps build community connection and social belonging, all while cooking healthy food.
The project is coordinated by staff and volunteers from local non-profit organizations Harvest Share Parry Sound and Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere (GBB). For the past eight months, the program aimed to provide opportunities for older adults to socially connect, develop new food skills, and increase food and nutrition literacy that can be used by participants beyond the project.
About a dozen seniors gathered weekly to work together to cook a meal under the guidance of volunteers from Harvest Share and GBB. Every session began with a casual cup of coffee together, followed by a walk-through of the meal plan, then preparing the day’s dish. Once the meal was made, each participant took home their portion to enjoy. There were also specialty workshops where participants worked together to prepare food and identified recipes and skills they wanted to explore as a group.
“Community kitchens are fun! It is wonderful to see a group of people come together and build friendships while enjoying delicious, healthy food. Truly, there is community built over our time together,” says Harvest Share volunteer Glenda Clayton.
Participants made everything from breakfast frittatas with roast potatoes to bread, Ukrainian borscht, and homemade pierogies. Some days food made was specific to special dietary needs, such as diabetic-friendly meals focused on managing blood sugar.
The project was created in response to the dual challenges of increasing social isolation and food insecurity among seniors. Basic food costs rising can pose a serious challenge for seniors in particular due to fixed incomes. Some seniors have continued to feel isolated, one of the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Participant Nancy said: “I have been living alone for the past 18 months since I lost my husband. I have not been cooking at all for myself and eating healthy meals. The cooking classes have absolutely saved me! Wonderful healthy recipes, fresh food, and new friends. Excellent facilitators! Supportive and caring group.”
In 2016, Stats Canada reported that one-person households became the predominant household type for the first time in Canada’s 150-year history, and this number continues to rise. A 2021 article by Stats Canada titled “Living Solo” revealed that the majority of these households were senior residents.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit has also highlighted the challenges of increasing food costs in The Cost of Eating Well, noting that the monthly cost for a single older person aged 70+ to eat healthily is $313—a significant financial burden for many in the region.
GBB’s Community Programs Coordinator Van Saberton said: “For many participants, community doesn’t happen in a day, but rather, through time, with events like Community Kitchens getting people out of the house and uniting under a commonality. Food is one way to do that, it can offer a universal language fostering social bonds while creating emotional comfort.”
The Senior Community Kitchen Project was made possible with funding from the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility and North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit, and the time and expertise of volunteers. Chi-miigwech!
