Alison Colwell

What are Community Kitchens?

You might have seen the posters around advertising one? Or maybe you received an email inviting you to one? And maybe you were wondering what a Community Kitchen is?

A community kitchen is a group of people who get together regularly to cook and eat together and bring food home. We generally meet once a month. When we first encountered the community kitchen idea it was presented as a way to encourage people to improve their own health and nutrition, while also strengthening community ties.

The Community Kitchens’ Project started in Vancouver in the mid-1990s, and has since grown to be a province wide organization. They are now an educational and informational resource centre for cooking and nutritional skill building programs across British Columbia. I have attended two workshops with them and try to bring back those skills to our community.

On Galiano we have added to the project a desire to use what is locally in season, and source food from local stores whenever possible. During the winter and spring we cook meals, and as harvest season comes we switch to canning and preserving kitchens, using gleaned produce whenever possible. Community Kitchens are about strengthening relationships with each other and improving our relationship with food.

At our community kitchens, the meal is planned ahead of time, based on what’s available. The recipes are printed and the ingredients are gathered. When the participants arrive everyone goes where they want – choosing the thing they want to work on, and then small groups make that part of the menu, deciding for themselves how to proceed. Often they follow the recipe. Sometimes they don’t. The food is always delicious. We eat together, sharing what we learned, or letting others know the changes that were made, and then we divide up the food that’s left amongst the participants. Usually everyone gets two meals to take home. The kitchens run on a sliding scale of $15-$20.

To attend a kitchen you must RSVP Alison Colwell at galianofoodprograms@gmail.com or call 250-539-2175, extension 2- FOOD PROGRAM

Foraging

On April 11, a small group of foraging enthusiasts had the pleasure of gathering for an afternoon of discussion centered on wild harvests. The instigators of this pleasant afternoon were Rose Longini, our gracious host, and Dan Persyko, a long-time Galiano resident, who has many years of experience feeding himself from the wilds and is very keen on passing on this valuable knowledge. Many of you will already know this colorful character as Dan the one-man band, a talented and versatile musician, or as T. Nile’s father…

While most of us have had some sort of exposure to eating wild foods, few of us are as well-versed in the sheer variety of edible wild foods and their properties and many uses, as Dan is.

The topics discussed were varied, interesting and wide-ranging: from native uses of various wild foodstuffs, to wild harvesting ethics, deer culling, clam gardens, the politics of Montague Park, early settlers, Galiano hermits, websites, facebook and blogs, as some of the best ways of disseminating information about wild plants and animals in this day and age… there was something for every taste (Pun intended… by the way, Rose also had quite an array of delicious food on offer!!).

We examined and discussed the way native people’s ‘gardens’, which were essentially wild stands of selected desirable foods that were tended, in order to maximize their chances of propagation and growing success, may have seemed to those early European settlers, used to the organized gardens and farms of the Old World.

We looked at some of our protected areas, more particularly Montague Park, which have a rich and ancient history as the ‘breadbaskets’ of the local people, and which now, under the protective umbrella of land management, are seeing their native plants’s natural life cycles disrupted (some of these plants depend on regular harvests for their propagation and for the health of their ecosystems), which may be counterintuitive to anyone who does not intimately understand their ecology.

All in attendance agreed that with the current oil crisis and the subsequent rise in food prices that will ensue, and since we live on an island and therefore vulnerable to changing circumstances in our food supply system, we need to take action to spread information locally about local wild food sources and how to use them sustainably and healthily. Dan has therefore agreed to lead monthly foraging walks, from now until the end of the year, and to teach locals and visitors what he has learned over decades of foraging on the West Coast. The information gathered will be published on the Food Program website, www.galianofoodprogram.ca. Contact us if you wish to participate.

Happening in September

WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS

TREE-PRUNING WORKSHOP-

On Sunday, September 19th, at 2pm, at 908 Morgan Road, Elizabeth Latta will be teaching how to prune a tree, fight back common tree diseases and generally increase orchard productivitiy. Bring pruning shears if you have them All welcome. By donation.

-WATER DAY-

This promises to be a wonderfully interesting event. Learn about water catchment systems, grey water use, humanure, xericulture, how to minimize water use in landscaping and gardening, etc… Several speakers will be in attendance, including Bob Burgess from Thetis’ Island’s Rainwater Connection, who will be introducing us to how to build our own inexpensive water catchment systems, including an onsite demonstration. Bob will stay an extra day to provide consultations to folks who wish to build such a system at home!! Sunday, September 26th, from 1pm until 4pm, at the Galiano Community Hall.

-FULL MOON HARVEST POTLUCK FEAST-

>This event will take place October 23rd at the galiano Community Hall, from 6pm until we are too tired to continue!! Come celebrate with your friends and neighbors! BRING A DISH MADE FROM LOCALLY-GROWN ITEMS and/or HELP WITH SET-UP AND CLEAN-UP 🙂

ONGOING PROJECTS:

-GREENHOUSE-

The summer crops are still being harvested. greens have been added for the fall. Lemon, avocado and pomegranate trees will be overwintering.There will be a lock on the door from now on, so if you wish to get a tour, please contact us at the Food program at galianofoodprograms@gmail.com. This fall, the school kids will be using it in combination with some instruction time about growing food in greenhouse, and we are hoping that PAC and the school will use the facility in the spring to produce starts that will then be used a s way to raise funds for their activities and projects.

-GARLIC COOP-

This year’s crop has been harvested and we are currently seeking a new location for next year’s crop. Contact us if you wish to lend your land to this initiative.

-POTATO COOP-

Nine varieties of potatoes were planted this year in Suzanne Stephens’ land, all organic, and most of them heirloom varieties, and extra watering days were added in order to compensate for the dry weather. This group includes about 10 participants and the first harvesting will take place this week.

-SATURDAY MARKET-

The Food Program had given support to this group in the form of advertizing. A mannequin was purchased, posters were created and posted throughout the island, and e-mail reminders were sent weekly. The Saturday Market group reported unprecedented growth in attendance and sales this year, and up to seven different food growers and several artisans were present each week, as well as live entertainment.

-GLEANING PROJECT-

This project was hugely popular last year. This year, because of the cold and wet spring, several fruit trees suffered poor pollination rates, and crop level are consequently very low. So far, one gleaning party has been organized and we are hoping fruit owners will come forth in the weeks to come.The food will be distributed among the pickers, the owners, the Food Bank and the Food Program. Should there be surpluses, the extra food will go towards the Community Kitchens and the Seniors’ luncheons.

-MOVEABLE FEASTS (MEALS ON WHEELS GALIANO)-

Two tasting luncheons were organized in order to gather more information about the type of service that would work on Galiano, who might benefit from the service, and the kind of food to be served. It was assessed that the elders wished that the current service provided be supplemented by ‘socials’ that would include entertainment and simple, nutritious food. leftover food would be delivered to those unable to attend.

-COOPERATION WITH SCHOOL- The Galiano school will focus this academic year on food and food production. Jennifer Lucke and Cathy Buttery are currently developing a curriculum around these topics and we will be collaborating on devising such a curriculum with them and the new principal in September and Octiber. The school garden is in full swing and the new greenhouse will be instrumental in our planning.

-COMMUNITY KITCHEN-

This project has been very popular. The core group (which included about 2 5 community members at its inception, with individual event limited to 10 participants) meets every three weeks and cooks a meal of their choice. The meal is eaten communally and leftovers are brought home. The focus is healthy, fresh, local food, cooked communally, sharing of information and cooking skills and inclusiveness. So far, the costs of the meals (not including the coordination time and efforts) is almost self-sustaining and covered by a nominal fee that each participant pays at each event, typically around $5-$10 per person.

This month, the focus in on canning the harvest. The next session, led by Alison Colwell, will be held September 27th, BEET PICKLES. Contact us to reserve a spot- spaces are limited to 6 participants.

REPORT ON PAST EVENTS

-COMMUNITY PICNIC-

On September 12, the community of Galiano gathered at the Community school to celebrate the end of summer. Over 130 folks came for the potluck, which was held indoors due to the rain, which did nothing to dampen the spirit of the day. Greg Gammon, Paul gregory and Andrew Ages provided the live musical entertainment. The day also featured a zucchini bake-off, a spoon and egg race, bubble-blowing, ice cream-making, an old-fashioned lemonade stand, story-telling by Andrew loverage, a puppet show by the Galiano Conservancy, a corn-husking competition. Much enthusiasm was generated, and we hope this will become an annual tradition.

-ALL ABOUT APPLES-

On August 29th, Harry Burton, from SSI’s AppleLuscious Farm, came and delivered a warmly entertaining and informative workshop about apples. About 50 participants were in attendance.