10. Galiano Island Food Program: Galiano Frozen Meals Nutrition Project

Project Description

Note: This project will take place online and in-person. Ideally students will be available to come to Galiano for a weekend.

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

History of the “Soup for Seniors” Program

In the first years of the Food Program, staff explored the possibility of bringing a Galiano version of the traditional “meals on wheels” to the island. They investigated whether there was a need for such a program and whether it could be sustainable. The staff reached the conclusion that while the need was there a traditional program could not be sustained with the limited resources available. In May of 2011, we began with the idea of making soups, and freezing them for the seniors. Soup is easy to make, it can be made in large amounts, and often using produce donated by the local farms. Freezing the soup meant it could be distributed as needed, so we could have kitchens periodically, but the frozen soup would always be available. In the very first "Soup for Seniors" kitchen we put 95 containers of soup in the freezer with a total food cost of $40. In 2011 we had just 6 kitchens.

After a year of this, I realized that once the soup was made, while it was cooling, and before we put it into containers, the volunteers and I always sat down and had lunch together, and I wondered if we should invite the seniors to join us. I’d been delivering soup to them for a year and was learning that the social aspect of the food was as important for most of them as the food itself. So in April 2012 we invited seniors to join us for lunch. We did that a couple of times, and then we wondered if we might increase community involvement by welcoming everyone for lunch. That was the beginning of the "Soup and Bread" lunches that we now hold at least twice a month.

When we opened it up to a larger community lunch I had to enlist the help of a second staff person to work on the door and collect the money. By the end of that second year we started to hear feedback from the seniors. They were tired of soup. They wanted real meals.

We bought some foil packaging and in October of 2012 we began experimenting with frozen meals. We needed meals that could be made in a large quantity, were easily packaged and would still taste great after they were frozen and reheated. (Bearing in mind that seniors would reheat them in a variety of ways, regardless of what the label says.) Shepherds pie was one of the first meals we made, and we made twenty five at that first kitchen. In 2012 we had 8 kitchens. In 2013 we had 14 kitchens, we made 245 containers of frozen soup and 700 meals, the food cost was $2000. In 2015 we had 34 kitchens. We made 750 containers of frozen soup and 2000 frozen meals, as well as serving 1800 people lunch or dinner and the total food cost was $8000. In 2020 we had 42 kitchens. We made 450 containers of frozen soup and 3100 frozen meals, as well as serving 1000 people lunch or dinner and the total food cost was $10,000.

Gradually we have increased the number of places where seniors can get our soups and meals. The program has come a long way from when I used to go door to door around the seniors village with a cooler in the back of my van. The Soup for Seniors Program is one of the Galiano Food Program's most successful project touching more than 50% of the population. In the last couple of years demand for meals has increased. At the start of the pandemic we began a delivery system in response to closures in senior's gatherings, and as a way to reach more isolated seniors. The demand for the delivery program continues, even as activities open up, and I'd love to create some kind of a "menu" to send home for seniors to help them make better choices from the meals we carry. I'd also like to increase the information available on our website for those seniors who are not coming in person to pick up their meals. And I'm hoping you can help me with both those ideas.

Main Project Activities and Deliverables

• Look at our existing meals/recipes and research other meals suitable for seniors with special diets (e.g. pre-diabetic, low fat, minimum spice, etc.)
• This will definitely be a collaborative process! I have a sense of what will work in terms of cost, seniors preference and freezability and we can discuss this in advance. Usually students give me 10-12 recipes and from there I will choose 6 that we'll make together during a test kitchen session
• For the test kitchen session, and I will invite some seniors to come eat lunch with us so the students get instant feedback, plus get a better understanding of our neighbours/program participants
• Students will provide a nutritional breakdown of recipes that are successful
• Reformat the existing nutritional breakdowns in an easy to read format for the website
• Create a nutritional info cheat sheet for a possible "menu" to send to seniors who use our delivery system

Note: As travel to Galiano is required for this project, students will need to complete a travel and accommodation budget. Please discuss your TA for more information.

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Understanding of nutritional information
• Understanding of different dietary restrictions
• Cooking skills (are an asset)
• Good communication skills

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

• Ideally, students will be able to come to Galiano for the test kitchen (date to be discussed)

Is a criminal record search (CRS) required?

• No

How much self-direction is expected from the students?

• Deciding on the project deliverable(s) Led by community partner
• Developing the activity plan and timeline Equal leadership between students and community partner
• Scheduling and initiating the communication plan (e.g. weekly Zoom check-in, biweekly email update, etc.) Mostly led by students, with some community partner input
• Implementing the activity plan (e.g. surveying stakeholder groups) Led by community partner
• Finalizing the deliverable(s) Mostly led by students, with some community partner input

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

• Flexible

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

Ideally students will be available to come to Galiano for a weekend. We will hold a test kitchen to try out any new frozen meals they have developed, plus they can expect to get their hands dirty at the Community School Garden or another of our outside projects!

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review the following materials prior to the first partner meeting. Additional orientation materials may be provided at the first partner meeting.

• Students should check out our website - in particular the Food Program section: https://galianoclub.org/food-program/

Additional Materials

• Mills, Christine Marie (2021). Food Insecurity in Older Adults in Canada and the United States: A Concept Analysis. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research doi https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2021-016
• Leroux, J, Morrison, K. & Rosenberg, M. (2018). Prevalence and Predictors of Food Insecurity among Older People in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi 10.3390/ijerph15112511
• Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook and related BC Ministry of Health resources