Airdrie's Rotary Community Kitchen is planning a return to in-person offerings and is seeking community feedback in the form of an online survey this month.
The charitable kitchen program, which is an Airdrie Food Bank-led initiative, transitioned to an online format during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been offering all of its programs and workshops via Zoom since that time.
Meghan West, programs manager at Airdrie Food Bank and the Rotary Community Kitchen coordinator, said the transition to online came with some unforeseen challenges.
“There was a learning curve transitioning to virtual programming,” she said. “I think that some of those connections that people build working as a team, which was a big focus of when we were in the kitchen together, are harder through a screen.”
She added that even though coordinators and participants are eager to get back to normal, they will be mindful of each individual’s comfort levels with regards to food prep in a shared, in-person space.
“That’s a big piece of why we’re looking for input,” she said. “We’re hoping to welcome people to the kitchen in a safe way. It’s just carving out what that means to everyone.”
In the past, West said the kitchen has made an effort to gauge community interest before developing its programming and this year’s survey is the latest example of that public engagement.
“We’re planning our fall programs with some input from the community,” she said. “We wanted to get a sense heading into the fall as we set off this next batch of classes, what people are interested in, [and] what their comfort level is exploring a return to in-person programming.”
She said whether online or virtual, the kitchen will be offering its standard programs this fall, which in previous years included Intro to Pickling and Pie Making 101. She added the kitchen will also be going ahead with some of its partner programs this fall, including a program that focuses on cooking for one after the loss of a loved one, in partnership with Airdrie and District Hospice Society.
The kitchen will be offering seasonally focused programming as well as workshops to help participants build skills in the kitchen, but West said the main focus of the kitchen is to help people “connect through food.”
“We’re going to be running programs – it's just a matter of, will we be in the kitchen cooking together or will we maintain that virtual format, or explore a blend of both options?” she said
West said a benefit of shifting to online during the pandemic was the increased access to workshops for parents who may have found child care was a barrier.
“Being able to access the program from home has been kind of an unexpected silver lining,” she said, adding the kitchen is also able to facilitate a larger class size virtually than in-person.
“So, that’s something that we’ll have to adjust when we make that change to [in-person].
“Every time you make the transition, there’s an opportunity for improvement.”
The survey is available through the Airdrie Rotary Community Kitchen Facebook page and is pinned as a post at the top of the channel. West said they will be collecting responses until Aug. 20.
The kitchen will also be hosting a Learn to Lunch session on Aug. 24 for school-aged children heading back to school this fall.
“I’m going to go over creative combinations of what you can pack and food safety around making sure that you’re putting an ice pack in your lunch pail and just some of those basics,” West said.
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