By Courtney Harrison
As it marks its fifth year of serving weekly vegetarian and vegan meals, the Ottawa Peace Kitchen is encouraging the community to lend a hand cooking and enjoy an inexpensive meal.
Organizers of the Peace Kitchen work hard to promote sustainable environmental practices through using food donated by the Herb and Spice Shop that would otherwise be thrown away. The meal is prepared and served at the Bethel Field House every Sunday.
Participation at the Peace Kitchen has declined recently, says Audrey Brewster, co-founder of the group, because the process of running the kitchen can be tiring for volunteers. Also, they are now asking for a $1 donation each week from all who are involved in order to cover costs.
In its early days, the Peace Kitchen simply provided a meal. More recently, Brewster has been encouraging the community to get involved in both the preparation and cleanup of the meal.
It is difficult to find diners who are willing to cook and clean, says Brewster, but the experience has been rewarding for those who come week after week.
“I had people say, ‘I haven’t done dishes like this since I was a kid,’ and it brings back all these family memories,” says Brewster. “You don’t realize how cooking and eating together can be very nurturing to people.”
The nurturing aspect is important to the clientele, as many are dealing with, or have dealt with, poverty or mental health issues.
Brewster says it was important to her to put together a group that emphasized peace and provided inexpensive meals to the community on a regular basis. She helped form the Peace Kitchen after participating with the Ottawa division of Food Not Bombs, a group that protests war and poverty by serving free vegetarian meals.
“This is such a practical solution,” says Brewster. “Every week you’re making a concrete difference in someone’s life.”
Ralph Sollbach, who has volunteered with the group for six years, says although it is difficult to compete with shelters that provide free meals, the Peace Kitchen offers more than just a meal.
Sollbach, a strict vegan, says he enjoys the company he finds at the kitchen every week. Also, he says the Peace Kitchen provides quality meals, because it employs a trained chef.
“[This] is unusual because there are very few soup kitchens with chefs that have her level of training,” says Sollbach of the kitchen’s chef, Janet Muria.
Muria, trained at Algonquin College, has worked in the city with 26 different chefs and maintains a holistic, natural diet that she extends to her work at the Peace Kitchen.
Muria always comes up with a balanced meal that volunteers help prepare, says Brewster. She concentrates on the quality of the food instead of the quantity, she adds.
“I try and keep it very simple and focus on the food because food is everything,” says Muria.
The kitchen provides an outlet to experiment with organic and local produce, says Muria. She also enjoys teaching volunteers different ways to prepare tasty and economical vegetarian dishes.
In addition to food donated by the Herb and Spice Shop, the Peace Kitchen has an organic community garden where they grow fruits and vegetables as well as compost leftovers.
Those interested in participating at the Ottawa Peace Kitchen are asked to arrive at 11 a.m. and stay until 2 p.m. to help prepare the meal, eat and assist with the cleanup.
The Bethel Field House is located at 166 Frank St. in St. Luke’s Park.