Calgary Co-op and Stardale Girls Cooking Program Pilot

What does food security mean to you? What does it mean to a young Indigenous girl residing in Calgary, especially when dollars are scarce in the family unit? The Calgary Co-op Foundation and Stardale Women's Group decide to address these issues through a collaborative effort of designing a pilot project that would include good, healthy food concepts and teaching the girls how to prepare food on a budget. The Calgary Co-op put out a call to their chefs and had an overwhelming response. The chefs (five in total) volunteered their time and expertise to come up with a program that would assist the girls in learning about food preparation, costs, and value for the dollar. The program stretched over three months and was incredible fun! What is better than cooking, eating, and sharing food with some real cool chefs?

The Big Cook-Off

For the last class, there was a competition organized by the three chefs from the Co-op and Laura Brown, the Executive Director of the Calgary Co-op Foundation. Once the clock started to tick with the limited time to prepare the dishes, you could hear a buzz in the room. Everyone was on task.

The Shopping Spree at the Co-op Midtown Market

On a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon, chefs showed up to reunite with the Stardale girls. Also in attendance was Danielle Bussieres (Vice President of Marketing and Member Relations), Laura Brown (Executive Director of the Calgary Co-op), and Big Al (the store manager). Al knew the products well and was thorough when explaining to the girls the choices they could make to fill their grocery basket wisely. All in all, it was a huge success and Stardale thanks the Calgary Co-op.