Feeding Body and Soul

Knowing how to cook nutritious meals on a budget doesn’t necessarily come naturally, and that’s especially true for people who have experienced homelessness. But about 40 residents of two apartment buildings in Port Colborne will have hands-on opportunities to learn this year, thanks to a $15,000 Community Grant from NCF.

Gateway Residential and Community Support Services of Niagara, which operates the 23-unit Repei Place and the eight-unit Robinson Place, will be hosting regular kitchen parties throughout the year, inviting tenants to plan, budget, shop, prepare and preserve nutritious foods at affordable prices.

“For example, soup or crock-pot chili,” said Shelly Mousseau, program director of Gateway. 

Working with a Gateway staff member, residents can decide together what they want to make, decide on their budget, peruse grocery store flyers for good deals, head out to shop together, and then come home and cook together. They’ll learn basic cooking skills, enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal, and then learn how to package and safely preserve the leftovers to be enjoyed another day.

The Gateway program staff can help residents make sure they have refrigerated or frozen the leftovers properly, and explain how to reheat. “Sometimes it's things we can take for granted, such as how many days can that soup sit in the fridge and I can still eat it? If you didn’t have the opportunity to learn that, our case managers are there to teach those skills – to live independently long-term.” The program is good for people’s physical health and mental health, Mousseau said, because, in addition to feeding people’s bellies, it will also feed their souls as it builds community among neighbours. Because the tenants are almost all on fixed incomes with very little money for discretionary spending, the program is also expected to reduce the number of visits to local soup kitchens.

“It’s a great program,” Mousseau said, “and it’s definitely needed. We are already seeing people attend, so we know it is appreciated.”