The Evolution of Collective Kitchens

Sylvie et Jacinthe Ouellette It all started back in May 1982 in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, when Jacynthe Ouellette suggested to her sister Sylvie that they combine their money, ideas and time. The two decided to buy their groceries and cook nutritious meals together. Occasionally, a neighbour would join in. They would get together once a month and cook up twenty or so meals for each of their families.

Community Initiatives

Workers at Carrefour familial Hochelaga-Maisonneuve thought that having a group of people cook together was a great idea. So they asked Jacynthe to talk to other women in the neighbourhood about her experience.

After several meetings at Carrefour familial Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and the Maison des femmes La Marie-Debout, a number of women expressed interest in starting a collective kitchen of their own. This was how this new community approach got started, and it was a concept that would eventually catch on and become very popular. Today, hundreds of community-based organizations around the province provide a place for collective kitchen groups to meet and cook. In 2004, there were 1,330 collective kitchens in Quebec.

The vision that inspired the pioneers of collective kitchens was to create a mutual-assistance network to deal with food-related problems. It went beyond simply preparing meals. The purpose was and is for collective kitchens to be a place for social contact, building support, and gaining more self-confidence and self-sufficiency. This original vision is still as strong as ever and remains the guiding principle for all of our collective kitchens.

The Evolution of Collective Kitchens...

Having enough to eat and getting proper nutrition, being able to make ends meet, and being no longer dependent on food banks were major concerns for the Ouellette sisters. Unfortunately, this need is still very much present in our society. But, thankfully, collective kitchens are an effective solution.

It is very important, however, for people to be aware that there are other types of collective kitchens that are created for reasons other than the initial reasons that motivated Jacynthe and Sylvie Ouellette.

Collective Kitchens for Every Taste!

Since they were first started, collective kitchens have become widely diversified. Groups are now being created to meet specific needs.

Here are some of the different types of collective kitchens now in operation:

Multi-ethnic: to meet diverse cultural needs and share recipes from other countries.
Vegetarian: where vegetarians can cook together and be initiated to vegetarian cooking.
Baby food: where mothers can get together to prepare food for their infants.
Health: where people with particular health problems such as diabetes, AIDS, hypertension, cholesterol and heart problems can make meals together that correspond to their prescribed diets.
Weight loss: where people wishing to lose weight can cook together and benefit from group support.

There are also collective kitchens for children, teens, men, seniors and the handicapped.

All these groups benefit from the opportunity to make good meals, develop self-sufficiency, eat healthy food and enjoy better quality of life.