Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is no posh neighborhood. People there mostly live on low incomes, carefully watching their dollars while coping with challenging health conditions such as diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, and various addictions. For many, home is a room in a residential hotel (a single-room occupancy, or SRO), and that presents its own challenges for meal preparation, because SROs seldom come with adequate cooking facilities.
That’s where DECK comes into the picture. The Downtown Eastside Community Kitchen Project helps people form groups (now more than a dozen) where they can learn the necessary skills to cook nutritious meals together in this special corner of the city. Residents gain the confidence and community connections that help them feed themselves well. They become less isolated by working together and sharing meals. In recognition of the particular needs of this community, DECK is supported by Vancouver Coastal Health and the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Like the Vancouver Community Kitchen Project, DECK is a subsidiary of the Food Bank, and the two CK projects work closely and share the same major goals . Community and health organizations concerned with specific issues also work with DECK to offer information and support to those in need. They often find that when basic needs like good food and health care are met, residents’ overall well-being improves or at least becomes stable. Visit our Flickr site to see more photos from some of the community kitchens DECK is involved in.
Our 2009 survey of DECK participants show what a positive impact this project has made. In fact, we are proud to announce that in November 2009, DECK was one of twelve organizations awarded with the Innovative Community Capacity Building Award from the Canadian Cancer Society’s Community Capacity Building Strategy, an initiative of the BC Healthy Living Alliance. This award recognizes local development/redevelopment projects or programs, and the individuals behind them, that inspire communities to take action to identify and meet their own needs. The award also honours individuals and their affiliated organizations who continually contribute to the foundation of their community.
DECK assists CK groups in finding appropriate cooking space, as well as needed equipment, and it helps train group leaders. The support of agency partners and volunteers is vital to the project’s success. So are things like equipment donations, and, most crucial, the use of kitchen space. DECK has a list of groups that would like to get started but so far lack the necessary facilities. If you can help, please contact:
