Fresh Choice Kitchens is currently looking for volunteers for the following projects. Please contact Diane Collis at for further information.
1. Volunteer Chef Duration: 5.5 hours for one workshop
Fresh Choice Kitchens is looking for a professionally trained chef to share cooking tips and tricks during our community kitchen leadership workshops, which are held in Vancouver. The workshop consists of a theoretical component and a hands-on collective cooking component. The chef will be invited to participate in the entire 5½ hour workshop with a big focus on supporting the collective cooking (and eating!) portion of the workshop. Fresh Choice Kitchens will plan the menu, select the recipes and purchase the groceries. The chef will be asked to oversee the cooking activity, participate in the recipe review with the group and provide hands-on kitchen tips, tricks and demos throughout the cooking and recipe review portion of the workshop. Please see our blog post for more details.
2. New Cooking and Nutritional Skill Building Game Duration: 2-3 days – can be spread over a couple of weeks
Fresh Choice Kitchens is looking for a new game. Focusing on cooking and nutritional skill building, we require an interactive game that can be used to engage people at community festivals and health fairs. The focus of the game will include nutrition information, healthy eating choices, cooking methods/skills and kitchen equipment care. The game needs to be mobile, easily transportable and withstand various weather conditions. Budget for expenses available.
3. Corporate Kitchen Equipment Drive “How To” Package Duration: 2 -3 days – can be spread over a couple of weeks
Fresh Choice Kitchens runs a donated kitchen equipment and tools room. The kitchen equipment and tools donated are distributed to community kitchens across Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions. We need an information package that we can send out electronically and by mail to businesses and corporations who are asking how to support community kitchens with inkind donations. The package will also be made available on our website. We would like this package to include a onepager “how to run a community kitchen equipment drive” that we can give out in hard copy at various events and meetings. Budget for expenses available.
4. Update of the Equipment Price Listing Duration: 5-7 days – can be spread over a couple of weeks
In 2004 Fresh Choice Kitchens had two interns do a pricing list that compares costs of kitchen equipment and tools at various price points available at different retail and wholesale outlets in Vancouver. The two documents that resulted from the 2004 project can be viewed on in our Community Kitchen Toolkit (see the 3rd item entitled “Equipment Pricing”). We share this important resource with community agencies needing to determine an equipment budget necessary for leading a community kitchen. Following the older list, you will update prices so they reflect costs in 2010. This list will be posted on the website as well as shared, in hard copy, at train-the- trainer workshops and community kitchen roundtables. Budget for expenses available.
5. Database Resource Collection Duration: 5-8 days – can be spread out over 2 weeks
Fresh Choice Kitchens’ new website has a database of resources (books, handouts, websites, posters etc.) used to support individuals and community agencies in their efforts to create and maintain community kitchens. Presently we have over 300 resources in the database. These have been collected over the past 10 years. We are now looking for new resources that have been created specifically by community kitchens in British Columbia. This would require contact with (project) identified community kitchen leaders across the province and asking them if they would like to share recent resources that they have created or come across that have worked well in their community kitchen groups. Working in the Fresh Choice office, a desk with phone and computer internet access would be made available.
