Before I returned to the Catholic faith
I attended a United Church. There were many widows and widowers. I started a group called Cooking Connexions (not a typo,the church had a connexions theme going)
It began with myself and 5 others, when I left it, it had grown to 13 others. Once a month, 3rd Thursday was agreed on, we gathered in the Church kitchen and prepared a wonderful, nutritious meal. Everyone participated in the prep and cooking. Then we all sat together at nicely laid tables, table cloth, cloth napkins etc. and enjoyed the meal together. We cooked extra so everyone got to take home another meal for later in the week or to deliver to a ‘shut in’ I did all the grocery shopping the day before and printed the recipes before hand. Each paid between $5 -7, depending on the items needed. Money collected in Feb purchased March’s groceries. I did not pay the fee as I did the leg work and brought from home little things not worth or practical buying and storing for a month, like 2 eggs, 1/2 cup butter…
Meals were: soup, juice, or salad and entree, and dessert and tea & coffee. Every thing from scratch and locally grown when possible, no microwaving or margarine or sugar substitutes, these being pet peeves of mine! Beginning the pastoral care minister donated everything for the first meal. I planned the menu but as we got going, during our meal we would discuss what we wanted to cook next month, and who had the recipes, if needed. A few times a church member would donate something like a turkey or a large roast and we were able to have our meal, take home meals, AND freeze the leftovers for a stew or soup next month. We used all the pots, pans, dishes + cutlery the church women already had in the kitchen. We were given the space no charge. Then I applied to a local foundation for funding to buy our own (smaller) pots, bakeware and utensils and to stock a pantry. We got a grant for $500! I attended the foundations annual meeting and gave a 3 minute talk basically covering the above. Everyone loved the idea and one asked for more info to start a group in her church. I have stopped many of my volunteer activities there, but will continue with the cooking group. It is so much fun, we laugh the entire time, it gets people our socializing, good food, cheap, and interesting new recipes. It is amazing how far $5 x 10 can be stretched with some planning. We only run from Sept - Apr since many go to cottages or trips in summer. And we ended our second season with $25 left over in the pot for next Sept!
