Lord Strathcona School - is attached to a community centre and being connected to other community services is an obvious advantage for Lord Strathcona School’s CFFF program. A visitor to the kitchen sees preschool aged children singing nursery rhymes about bananas along with the program’s childcare worker, while a school staff member interprets the kitchen coordinator’s instructions for banana pancakes. It’s the same recipe they will use at tomorrow’s hot breakfast program. Families come to learn more about nutritious Canadian cuisine, and Kitchen Coordinator Jane leads them through vocabulary practice while the griddle heats up. The CFFF program is well funded, and benefits from support and facilities via the Strathcona Community Centre, even the local Business Improvement Association actively supports the CFFF kitchen.
Florence Nightingale School - is a founding CFFF partner facilitated by the Kidsafe program and well supported by the school’s community. The program takes place weekly, on Thursdays when the school day ends early. Families involved in the program are generally new to Canada, and the group focuses on building language skills and creating community connections for the parents, who are anxious to learn more Canadian cuisine, especially baking techniques. The kitchen coordinator finds that participants need recipes and help determining the best shops in their neighbourhood for finding the ingredients. Families cook, and serve each other in the school kitchen.
Grandview/Uuqinak’uuh Elementary School
Grandview’s CFFF kitchen services a largely urban native population. Parents attending this twice weekly program are looking for recipes that will help them stretch their food budget further. The program is also a boost to their personal support networks, as friendships are built and information about other community programs is shared. Participants value the opportunity to spend time with their families and build community, as grandmothers, mothers and kids enjoy a nutritious meal together. Since participants are generally well versed in everyday cooking, this group reaches out of their comfort zone, trying more complicated or international recipes
