The pleasure of cooking as a group - National Collective Kitchen Day - March 22, 2004

Montreal – March 22, 2004: Le Regroupement des cuisines collectives du Québec (RCCQ) and the 1,330 collective kitchens in Quebec launch their 2004 awareness campaign to promote collective kitchens in Quebec and their advantages.

Who has not wished there was more time for the children, for all kinds of activities, for work? To reconcile how we spend time with living within a budget and eating good, affordable meals seems more and more difficult.

Close to 7,000 Quebecers have found a solution in joining a collective kitchen."I think they respond to a need," said Germaine Chevrier, co-ordinator of the RCCQ.

A collective kitchen is a small group of five or six people who want to eat healthy and to improve their quality of life. Participants meet to plan their meals and, with the help of circulars, they choose recipe and divide the shopping list. Next, they cook the dishes together - and then divide them into portions and take them home.

Collective cooking is more than cooking. It's a way for people to get out of the house, to meet people, to make friends, to share, to cook affordable dishes -- all in a pleasant atmosphere."Food, for me, is much more than cooking and gastronomy. Collective kitchens are practical and beneficial -- and they exist for people with all kinds of tastes and needs: traditional, multi-ethnic, vegetarian, baby food, kitchens for people on special diets, such as people with diabetes or high cholesterol as well as food for people on weight-loss programs. There are collective kitchens aimed at children, teenagers, women, men as well as seniors and people with disabilities. « Collective kitchen offer homemakers the opportunity to provide wholesome foods within a budget… and so much more ! Meeting, sharing and working with others « Suzanne Desautels.

Le Regroupement des cuisines collectives du Québec will hold an awareness day on March 22 intended to make politicians and personalities aware of what a collective kitchen does. Media representatives are invited.To learn about activities in your neighbourhood for Collective Kitchen Day, contact the collective kitchen nearest you. Or to register for training in how to launch a collective kitchen, call the Regroupement des cuisines collectives du Québec at (514) 529-3448 or at 1-866-529-3448.