Westminster United Church

Sharing Recipient Stories

2023 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$2,000

Sharing our grant story

The introduction of a meal-based workshop in the kitchen at Westminster has been wonderfully successful. It is consistently attended at capacity and the enthusiasm for sharing the meal with the men’s shelter is genuine. Thank you for making this possible through the generosity of your grant.
The workshops are pay-what-you-can and draw an eclectic group of participants – it’s always a fun night and many of the guests have participated regularly. I focused on meals that made use of what was readily available and recipes that invited people to try new things. So far we have made and delivered to the men’s shelter the following meals: Cobb Salad, Eggplant Parmigiana, Oven Stirfry, Turkey Soup, and Butter Chicken. The meals have been received well and are certainly appreciated by the residents.

The kitchen participants have learned how to make an inexpensive cut of beef more tender through velveting, how to use their thanksgiving turkey for soup, and how to incorporate the freshest food available into their meal planning. They asked to organize another community Christmas dinner, one regular participant even donated turkeys! We will be preparing and serving up to 40 guests on December 22nd. The friendships, purpose, and general level of fun are all serendipitous by-products of these workshops.

When I deliver the meals to the shelter, the residents are quick to tell me how much they enjoyed an earlier meal and are curious about what’s next. One of the men has become a regular volunteer in the kitchen at Westminster helping me when I’m preparing meals for the Lighthouse. We simply couldn’t have asked for a better result from this program.

I am humbled everyday by the food security issues our community is confronted by. It is my honour and pleasure to be part of the tireless team of people who together are seeking, and finding, ways to meet the demand. I appreciate very much the necessary help this grant has provided.

Thank you,
Margo Tasker