Cooking and Baking Projects
Around the table and in the kitchen we learn new skills, share our knowledge and support our deliciously diverse community.
These social and learning spaces not only address individual food literacy skills, but foster community to create connections and networks that empower beyond each activity.
Are you interested in Cooking Demonstrations from Cultivating Community in your workplace, community or club. Register interest here
Community Programs
Community-capacity building food programs improve access to fresh, healthy and culturally appropriate food and are a vital part of the solution to building social connections, food literacy skills and enterprise pathways.
After School Cooking
Cooking with us is fun. All our cooking activities showcase vital life skills to everyone involved and include improving information around food waste, circular economies, food choices, food safety and can support work pathway outcomes.
Our sessions are tailored for all ages and clubs reflect the abilities, tastes and cultures of participants who love to suggest and share their favourites.
We're currently cooking in North Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Flemington, Prahran and Burwood. We have sessions designed for corporates as part of their ESG requirements.
We try and source as much of our produce as possible from our Rooftop Farm and other collaborative gardens spaces as possible - helping o close the loop as much as we can. All this produce is fresh , natural, seasonal and culturally diverse.
A number of our cooking projects can include the use of food for social cohesion and the production of a community meal together with ingredients supplied from our farm. If you would like a project like this for your community and organisation email us.
Participants join to help prepare the meal and enjoy conversation together. We will often work in partnership with local health agencies and networks.
These groups often discuss local initiatives, services and issues, as well as providing an opportunity to practice English language skills.
If you have a community cooking project but also need ideas on improving composting then look no further than Cultivating Community.
We can help you and your organisation and community learn all about composting and worm farming techniques, helping to create an ongoing supply of compost and worm castings for the garden while diverting food waste from landfill.
The High-Rise Baking Group meet regularly at Highett Community Garden Oven on Fridays.
The sessions are for anyone interested in making or eating bread looking to socially connect with like-minded people.
Locals gather to share diverse bread making methods and discover the secrets of sourdough whilst helping produce items for community provision.
If you would like to join High Rise, please contact us!
Communal gardens and Kitchen Gardens within Social and Public Housing precincts are becoming more popular allowing active and passive participation.
We can help you design but also activate these spaces, creating kitchen gardens that support the cook skills, recipes, food literacy projects of that communities environment - joining up all the dots!
All our work is in partnership with others in collaboration with individuals, councils, businesses in the community. Working together we develop and implement projects that are investing in our community.
Power of Partnership
Richmond, Prahran, Fitzroy - Community based kitchens.
The projects offered through the Community Kitchens help people to develop food literacy and socially connect.
We would like to thank all our generous funders including The Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services, City of Melbourne for supporting us and also support from, Frasers Property, Bendigo Bank, Bank Australia, Jack Brockhoff, Brian Davis, Perpetual, Paul Ramsay and many others each year.
