By Kyra Gillespie
You and your friends are invited to cook up a storm – and you might just win some cash for it.
Following the ‘Together We Can’ summit in 2017, where community leaders gathered to learn more about heightening family violence awareness locally, a group of trailblazers founded Party in the Kitchen.
The fun, team-oriented initiative encourages people to get together and cook a meal as a group, and while doing so, talk about what ingredients make a healthy neighbourhood.
The Party in the Kitchen committee is running a competition, where the first 20 entrants receive a $150 food voucher. “This month we are inviting people living and working in Cardinia Shire to get together with a few friends to cook up and share a meal as part of a campaign to build positive community,” member Richard Schoenmaker said.
“They only have to document their Party in the Kitchen by taking photos of how much fun can be had, add a list of ingredients that lead to healthy positive neighbourhoods and post to social media tagging Positive Neighbourhoods. We are offering $150.00 food vouchers for the first 20 entrants.”
As Aileen Thoms, Community Health Manager at Kooweerup Regional Health explained, “the aim of this project is to create positive neighbourhoods through the creation of a campaign to bring people together to cook their favourite recipe for a crowd.”
“The Party in the Kitchen, offers opportunities for people to participate in a comfortable atmosphere at home or community kitchen, interact with others, share information and build strong relationships, while doing everyone’s loved activity – eating!
“The process of the project consists of people creating photographs of their groups cooking together, using fresh seasonal produce and having fan together.”
Through photos and recommendations, the group hopes to generate discussions that will lead to safer neighbourhoods and strengthen community connections.
“The project committee encourages everyone to participate,” Ms Thoms continued.
“You can be part of a youth group or faith groups – even a local footy team! We want all community members to be involved in a creation of safe and positive neighbourhoods for the general well-being of the community.”
