N.B. volunteers teach cooking skills for shrinking grocery budgets

A group of volunteers in southwestern New Brunswick have been teaching some finely honed kitchen skills for people stretching their food budgets.

Individuals living in food insecure households were invited to attend a series of classes at Neighbourhood Works in St. Stephen, hosted by volunteers teaching different recipe ideas that could be made with the same food.

“Our first class was chicken, so we cooked a whole chicken,” said Betty Gatta, a coordinator of the classes. “Then we did all the things you can do with leftover chicken. Casseroles, soups, and so on.”

Other classes focused on making multiple dishes from ground beef and oatmeal, as well as a focus on vegetarian meals and bread making. The final class was spent teaching holiday baking.

Lorie Davey, a coordinator of the classes, said an emphasis was placed on making pivots when recipes didn’t go as planned.

“We talk about our D and D’s, disasters and discoveries,” said Davey. “Even if you’ve been cooking for 40 or 50 years, you can still have some disasters. But then it’s a question of what do you do with it?

“If it’s not burnt you can use it again. A little whipped cream goes a long way.”

A new session of classes will begin in February. Ellen Elliott will help teach the next session, after rediscovering her cooking skills as a participant in the first round of classes.

“I can put in the years of experience I’ve had to help others,” said Elliott.

The volunteer group said contributions and support from the community helped make the classes happen, including a donation of kitchenware for each participant from the local Canadian Tire.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.