Grand River Community Health Centre & City offer international cooking classes for seniors

(Photo from left to right: Diane Thornton, Pushpa Ramdas, and Ruth Lowe)

BRANTFORD, ON – The Grand River Community Health Centre (GRCHC), in partnership with the City of Brantford and Brantford Immigration Partnership (BIP), are seeking ambassadors to support the Flavours of Brantford 2.0 program, a free monthly cooking series for older adults offered until March 2025. This free weekly program teaches participants how to prepare and enjoy a traditional meal from a different country each week, while also learning about the culture.

In early 2024, the City and GRCHC launched a successful senior-focused pilot project that included various one-off cooking classes, each session being dedicated to a different country each week. The success of the pilot led to GRCHC and the City successfully applying to the Ontario Senior Community grant to reimagine the project, inclusive of participant feedback from the pilot project. Flavours of Brantford 2.0 launched in September 2024 and has had over 130 participants thanks to the $18,590 in grant funding received from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. 

The Flavours of Brantford 2.0 program aims to bring newcomers, socially isolated and low-income seniors together to socialize, build community connections and learn about new cultures through food. The project comes at a critical time where experiences of social isolation and food insecurity among seniors in the community is at an all-time high.

The City and GRCHC are seeking three ambassadors with roots from India, the Caribbean, and Blue Zones (Greece, Japan, Italy, and Costa Rica) to volunteer to speak about their culture and help teach a group of older adults how to prepare a traditional meal of their choosing with the help of a facilitator. All materials and ingredients will be supplied. The sessions are two hours long and take place at the Grand River Community Health Centre, located at 363 Colborne St, throughout January to March 2025. Each ambassador will receive a $100 honorarium for their time.

Adults aged 55+ are invited to participate in the Flavours of Brantford 2.0 program. Each month will feature classes based on food from the following continents:

• Africa – Fridays, January 10 and 17, 2025
• India – Wednesdays, January 22 and 29, 2025 and Fridays January 24 and 31, 2025
• The Caribbean – Thursdays, February 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2025
• Blue Zones – Thursdays, March 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2025

Registration is required and limited. To register, email mkafele-green@grchc.ca or call 519-754-0777 ext. 222 

To become a Flavours of Brantford ambassador, Call 519-754-0777 ext. 251 or email mbentia@grchc.ca 

Learn more about the Flavours of Brantford 2.0 program at Brantford.ca/FlavoursOfBrantford.

Quotes

“Thank you to the Ontario government for providing this much-needed funding to help support program development for older adults in the City of Brantford. As an age-friendly community, it is vitally important that we continue to collaborate alongside community organizations to provide enhanced access to affordable and inclusive activities for seniors. I encourage anyone looking to make a meaningful difference in the community to get involved in the Flavours of Brantford 2.0 program.” – Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis.

“During the October 2024 Flavours of Brantford 2.0 group, 89% of participants agreed that this project helped them feel more engaged in their community, while 78% strongly agreed or agreed that the project helped to reduce social isolation in the community. We are pleased to be able to bring the older community together to celebrate culture through food.” – Makeda Kafele-Green, Program Coordinator at Grand River Community Health Centre

“Loved the social interaction with the other participants while learning some interesting recipes” – Group Participant on Feedback Form

“Great program- allowed me to try different recipes from different countries-without having to throw out foods if I didn’t like it. Thank you” – Group Participant on Feedback Form

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Media Contact:

Kelly Page | Communications Specialist, Communications and Community Engagement

City of Brantford | 519-759-4150 ext. 5779 | kpage@brantford.ca