Next Kitchen Ready Workshop on Sunday, May 3

Cooking together. Learning together. Supporting food security.

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The Oceanside Community Kitchen is a charitable program of the Bradley Centre, designed to improve food literacy, support food security, and create welcoming opportunities for people to cook, learn, and connect in our community.

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How we got here

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Over the past few years, we've hosted small workshops, make-and-take sessions, and collaborative cooking events that have brought people together around food. We've also hosted community partnership opportunities that have allowed local charities and nonprofits to access our commercial kitchen at no cost, supporting food literacy, health, and wellness across the Oceanside region.

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This work was made possible through the generous support of our funders. The Oceanside Services Recreation Grant showed us that there was a desire for people to come together to cook. The Parksville Qualicum Beach Community Foundation seeded our Community Kitchen Time Bank — a fund that covers the real costs of running the kitchen so that community organizations and individuals can access it affordably.

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The Community Kitchen Time Bank

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Running a commercial kitchen costs money — utilities, equipment maintenance, cleaning supplies, insurance, and wear and tear add up. The Community Kitchen Time Bank covers these costs so that the kitchen remains accessible to our community.

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Thanks to the Time Bank, registered charities and nonprofits whose work aligns with our charitable purposes can access the kitchen at no cost. Community groups and individuals pay just $5 per person per session — a consumables fee that covers dish soap, sanitizer, garbage bags, hair nets, and a little bit of admin.

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The Time Bank depends on community support to stay funded. If you believe in food literacy, food security, and bringing people together through food, consider making a donation to help keep our kitchen doors open. Every contribution goes directly toward keeping kitchen access affordable for the people and organizations who need it most.

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To donate, contact us at communitykitchen@thebradleycentre.com or call 250-248-2336.

 

What the kitchen is

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The community kitchen is a fully equipped commercial kitchen available to small groups and individuals for collaborative cooking, meal prep, make-and-take workshops, food literacy programming, and community meals. It is not a private rental kitchen or cooking school — it is a community education and food resiliency program operated under charitable guidelines.

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Our kitchen exists to increase food skills and confidence, improve access to safe food preparation spaces, reduce food waste through the use of recovered food, support people experiencing food insecurity, and strengthen community connection.

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How to participate

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To use the community kitchen, attend a free Kitchen Ready orientation. In about 30 minutes, you'll tour the kitchen, learn how the program works, and walk away approved to book your own sessions.

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Available sessions are published monthly. You can book online through our booking form or by phone if you don't have computer access. 

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Programs are designed so that cost is never a barrier. Depending on the program, you may see free sessions, low-cost options, or pay-what-you-can pricing. Every fee-based program includes subsidized or free spaces, handled privately and respectfully.

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Volunteers needed

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The community kitchen runs on people who care. We're looking for:

FoodSafe Volunteers — Every kitchen session requires at least one person with FoodSafe certification present. If you're FoodSafe certified, you're the key that unlocks kitchen time for your neighbours and friends.

Program Coordinators — Help us plan and run kitchen programming, from coordinating session schedules to welcoming participants and keeping things running smoothly. No culinary experience needed — just a love of community and good organizational skills.

Sign-Up Support Volunteers — Help community members who aren't comfortable with technology get registered for kitchen sessions. This might mean processing phone messages from our booking line, or spending an hour a month at the Bradley Centre with a laptop to help people sign up in person. Perfect for someone who's patient, friendly, and comfortable with basic online forms.

General Kitchen Volunteers — Help with community meals, workshop setup, and keeping our kitchen running well.

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If any of these sound like you, we'd love to hear from you.

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Get started

Email: communitykitchen@thebradleycentre.com

Phone: 250-248-2336

Address: 975 Shearme Road, Coombs

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