Classes to help with shopping, cooking

Interfaith Food Bank will be offering free sessions to help people stretch their dollars when grocery shopping and to help them with family meal planning by cooking a week’s worth of meals at once.

Thanks to funding through the 2017 Kitchen Creations Fund offered by Food Banks Canada and Unilever, Interfaith Food Bank is now offering Shop Smart and Collective Kitchen programs, free for community members.

Shop Smart is a free two-hour class focused on helping participants learn to Shop Smart to make their grocery shopping less stressful and more affordable. The class includes label reading, information about core nutrients and family meal planning, and wraps up with a grocery store tour for a handson demonstration on how to make a shopping trip budget friendly.

Once participants have completed a Shop Smart session, they are eligible to attend Collective Kitchens programs. In a Collective Kitchen, participants will plan a menu, grocery list and prepare five to seven days of meals together. The food bank will provide some of the ingredients and participants will share the cost of the rest. Participants must contribute to food costs, but work together to design the menu and with the assistance of the Food Bank Basic Pantry items, the group can select recipes together that the group can afford.

By cooking collectively, participants will use skills gained in the Shop Smart session and cook together to spend much less than they may have spent on groceries for the week otherwise.

There are still spaces currently available in the upcoming classes in March, and the food bank is accepting registrations for further classes in 2018. Agencies are also welcome to book classes for their client groups. Participants must register prior to attending.

The Shop Smart class will take place Tuesday, March 13 at 6 p.m. while the Collective Kitchen session will be held Thursday, March 15 at 6 p.m. at Interfaith Food Bank, 1103 3 Ave. N. For more details and to register, contact Robyn at 403-320-8779 or robyn@interfaithfoodbank.ca.