The first phase of “Occupy Victoria” is complete and The People’s Kitchen was a resounding success. Operating on volunteers power and donations of food and supplies from dozens of individuals, groups, and businesses, The People’s Kitchen fed hundreds of campers, allies, and hungry people.
To contact the food committee email food@paov.ca
Acknowledgements
The success of The People’s Kitchen is due to the participation of many, many individuals, and the contributions of many individuals, groups, organizations, and businesses. We would like to express our deep and sincere gratitude to everyone who helped to get food to the people.
THANK YOU: David, Anna, Jean-Luc, Mitch, Rose, Breanne, Chris, Kay, Joanne, Mark, Kat, Rob, Monica, Paul, Luke, Food Not Bombs, Caroline, Rowan, Luis, Rich, Johanne, Meadow, Terran, Anke, Donald, Share Organics, Elaine, Kristina, Mary, Zachary, Terrence, Nancy, Elina, Nezza Naturals, Tamishka, Bernard, Epiphany, Kim, Ryefield, Brenda, Rhonda, Joy, Scott, Billy, Tina, Rusty, Don, Pedal to Petal, Cabin 12, Tasha, Noah, and many, many more!
10 Responses to “The People’s Kitchen”
Hi there,
I’d like to offer my help in making sure that the food crew has a good understanding of ‘FoodSafe’ and can comply as closely as possible to VIHA standards so that no-one gets sick from a silly food error.
Some of the issues I see are…
Hand washing and Gloves for Food Servers
Separate Serving Utensils to avoid cross contamination
4 step dish washing…Wash, Rinse, Bleach, Rinse
(and what do we do with the bleach water?…is there a more earth friendly alternative?)
Cold and hot food storage
Sorry to be a devils advocate, but I’m sure VIHA will pay a visit if we are serving food to the public.
I’m available to help get posters for food handlers etc. from VIHA…and with any other tasks/issues that might come up regarding Food Safety.
By the way…I’m really impressed by the caliber of organization by the folks who initiated this important action! Hear! Hear!!
Oh…and I don’t work for VIHA…in case you were wondering…I do however have a Food Safe Certification.
Sincerely
Rhonda Maguire
Thanks Rhonda! Nice to meet you today. I’m sure your contribution will be greatly appreciated.
Rusty
Just wanted to make sure that folks understand that dishes need to drip dry to be safe. Using towels to dry dishes pretty much destroys any good that the bleach dip does…unless you are using a clean paper towel for each dish. We will need a few dish draining racks to make this possible. (thrift shops?)
We also need to make sure that there two (2) sets of small buckets in the food prep area. One set is for rags for wiping food prep areas (one with clear water for rinsing the gunk of your rag and one with a little bleach for sanitizing).
The other set would be for rinsing and sanitizing utensils as food prep is happening. Same combo of rinse and sanitize.
Let’s make sure no-one gets sick from food contaminiation.
Bon appetite!
Hi Rhonda, When I was down there today there was a sign outlining the 6 steps for dishwashing but we could definitely use more to clearly mark which bucket is which. In fact we could use better signage on our compost and garbage and recycling bins, too. If I find the time, I will work on this but anyone else is welcome to pick up the project. I think there will be a bit of a food group meeting tomorrow before the General Assembly. Hope to see you,
Rusty
Here are the basics for food prep and storage safety.
I have ordered posters, but it would be a good idea if everyone on the food committee familiarized themselves. There is no such thing as the 24 hr flu…
http://www.eatsmartbc.ca clck on Food Safety Basics
Hello fellow 99 percenters! I dropped off a box of food and some food storage containers today. It was a bit confusing as the people on the opposite side from you with the sign with blue letters were trying to get me to leave the food with them but I could see that there was more of a drop off area on the other side of the square closest to city hall so I dropped it off there. Perhaps a big sign with “Kitchen” or “Food Drop Off” needs to be in place with only one area to drop off food.
Keep up the occupation, and a big thank you to all who are staying there.
Cheers, Joy
Hi Joy, Thanks for the food and supplies! The free and open People’s Kitchen is indeed on the south side of the square near City Hall and Pandora. Signs are a great idea, I was actually just thinking about Rhonda’s comments above about drip drying and thinking about getting some more signage for the dishwashing area. A big colourful sign for the kitchen would be great. I’ll put out the word and hopefully someone will run with it. In fact… anyone reading this want to jump in? Great chance to get creative…
Rusty
This Sunday @ 12 pm there will be a interfaith service in support of Occupy Victoria ,I invited people of all faiths,if you can see you there =)
Sorry, I lost my contact email address. I have another pot of soup to deliver between Wednesday and Sunday. What day and time would be best?
Terence
Thanks to all people working in The People’s Kitchen its a blessing