Kitchen Volunteers' Meeting - 15 Jan 2021

Attached: Agenda (PDF)

Minutes

Present: Norveen, Anika, Vicky, Dess, Anita, Sunil, Kelly, Misha, Indy, Liz, Kevin
Facilitators: Indy and Kevin
Minutes: Kevin

  • Acknowledgement of country (Indy)
  • Welcome to new volunteers: Norveen and Anika
  • Poor attendance
    • Important agenda items requiring wider group agreement have been defered to next meeting.
    • Agenda will be improvised according to what is appropriate for small group
  • Deferred topic: how do we keep space inclusive?
    • Indy will approach Art Green about running workshops on how to manage people who are affected by trauma
  • Introduction for new volunteers: what is the kitchen and what is its history (Vicki and Liz)
  • Group discussion: What is the main purpose of the kitchen? What are important qualities?
    • Providing food for free
    • Keeping the space is non-paternalistic
    • To create a place to meet
    • Creating a harmonious social spac
    • Building a community that invites participation and creates opportunities to participate
    • Provide a space for an exchange of ideas
    • Provide opportunities for social contact and to connect with new people
    • Creating a flexible space that is creative and free (i.e. liberal)
    • Create a space for learning and discovery (including self-discovery)
    • Foster community cohesion
    • Create a safe, healing space for community through food - a refuge?
    • Antidote to the commercial: people who eat at the kitchen are not 'customers'
    • Space for skill-sharing
  • Standards and agreed procedures for the kitchen volunteers
    • All volunteers should fill out the volunteer forms
      • Necessary to be covered under Belong's insurance
      • Paper copies available at kitchen
      • Ask Kevin for electronic copies if required
    • Baseline: food should be available for at least 30 people every day.
      • Need to develop system to reduce waste
      • Keep notes for the volunteers on the next day
    • OH&S
      • Maximum of four people in the kitchen at any one time
      • Minimum of two people in the kitchen
      • Clothes: closed shoes, hair tied back
      • Only the volunteers should be working in the kitchen e.g. no casual volunteering
    • The rostering needs to be clear and adhered to
    • Working group will be formed to lead the development of standards/procedures
      • Indy, Dess, Liz, Anika and Vicki have volunteers to be part of the working group
  • Some ideas:
    • Invite non-kitchen volunteers e.g. administration, pantry management
    • Ask for donations of specific foods when required on Facebook?
    • Food can be picked up from Belong's food co-op at Acacia Ridge
      • Will be more predicatable and we can choose the food to be picked up
      • Tam, Kelly and Anika have volunteered to do the pick-ups
  • COVID restrictions
    • Applies until 21st of January only
    • Group happy to proceed with simplified guidelines (see agenda):
      • Limit to 20 people outdoors; no one eating indoors
      • Maximum of four people in kitchen; masks to be worn
      • Create new signage (Kevin)
  • New Facebook private group
    • Reserved for rostering only
  • New wiki at http://tss.situ.net.au
    • Site to store or link important information for collaboration e.g. rosters, statistics, procedures, recipes, ideas
    • Read  access is public. Contact Kevin for account required to edit content
  • Regular meetings:
    • Monthly meetings are required to keep discussions manageable
    • Meet for dinner - alternate between different catering arrangements e.g. group to cook, pot luck.

 

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