Communal Cooking: A Bonding Experience

By Jade Fisher, Communications Specialist

Jerry is a devoted neighbor of ours. Previously a volunteer at the old building, a visitor who shopped during the very first week our current building opened (he still proudly has the flyer promoting the grand opening), and now he is our Kindness Café cooking class extraordinaire.

When he first shopped with us, he remembers only six others were shopping in the market the day he came into the new building. Now, he marvels at how the organization has grown and changed. Including the services offered - like the Kindness Cafe's cooking classes.

Café cooking classes are semi-quarterly and have been led by current and past staff members Nat, Bri, and Cavan. Jerry has taken a total of four classes and hopes they keep on coming!

Cavan shares cutting board tips with cooking class students.

Jerry is a passionate person. Once an avid runner with a couple marathons and 10Ks under his belt, he angles his passions toward cooking these days.

A proficient home cook and baker, Jerry still gleans fresh insight from the classes on topics like food safety, efficient food preparation, and taking care of your cooking space and equipment. The cooking classes highlight recipes that can be stretched into many meals when made at home. Beyond the useful tips learned in the class, Jerry finds the space to be very communal and friendly.

"It's a lesson in sharing a meal with others. I eat alone so often because I live alone, it's nice to eat with others for a change. It's people from different walks of life. I think that's what I like most about it."

The class brings people together to not only prepare a dish side by side but also to enjoy the fruits of their labor as neighbors. Jerry says, "Something about preparing and sharing a meal is a bonding experience!"

Our guests cook with love - and heart-shaped potatoes found in the food bank.

It’s a great way to meet neighbors. After he retired from a stressful career, Jerry moved into senior housing. Meeting people while in line for the food bank, while waiting for the bus and in cooking classes is a treat for Jerry.

Classes are overall a great way for him to put a name to new faces. Jerry appreciates the staff’s attentiveness to the array of folks joining the class. The class is welcome to all guests and celebrates diverse diets, cultural backgrounds and existing cooking knowledge.

"I'm vegetarian and so we'd have tofu instead of roast chicken and it was excellent. Bri would always have an alternative meal for me if we were preparing meat"

In cooking class, there is no shortage of opportunities to connect. "People were interested in my vegetarian dish so I would share that."

Combining knowledgeable staff with open-minded and open-hearted guests are the perfect recipe for cooking up connection at Ballard Food Bank. "I just have a lot of appreciation for them taking the time to make it educational and enjoyable for all of us. And eating communally is a good experience. It's a good experience all around."

This is what brings Jerry back over and over to attend the Kindness Café cooking class.