A community cookbook project aims to showcase diverse cultures in Timmins as well as raise money for food programs for two local organizations.
The project is currently in the planning stages.
“It’s a way of looking at what’s available locally, highlighting our local foods but also raising awareness about the variety of cultures, countries and cuisines that are here in Timmins,” said Betty Ann Horbul, a project volunteer and retired public health nutritionist.
The planning committee is looking for sponsors so that revenue from the cookbook sales can go toward the Anti-Hunger Coalition Timmins (ACT) and the Timmins and District Multicultural Center.
"We're looking to firm up the amount of money that we need to raise," Horbul said. "We'd like to be able to sell (the books) at a really reasonable cost."
The goal is to have the cookbook's first version available in print and online for fall 2021. The book will be bilingual, so recipes can be submitted in both French and English.
Having the book available in print and online would allow adding more recipes and stories on a regular basis, Horbul said.
“We thought it would be important for it to be more than just a cookbook,” she said. “We suggested it be a legacy project."
Horbul said the committee is looking for about 100 or more recipes. The hope is to get as many people making submissions as possible, including having recipes from prominent local figures, in order to make it a “real community cookbook.”
The planning committee, consisting of representatives and volunteers from almost a dozen community organizations and groups, meets virtually every two weeks.
Community partners involved in the project currently include ACT, Timmins and District Multicultural Center, Student Services of Université de Hearst and Northern College, Newcomers Encouraging Self-Empowerment in Timmins (NEST), Timmins Multicultural Society and an author and historian Diane Armstrong who's been the driving force behind the project.
The project also received support from the Timmins Native Friendship Centre, Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre and Misiway Milopemahtesewin Community Health Centre.
"It's a way of learning, too, because a lot of new people coming to Timmins may not know how to use, for example, the locally caught fish in some of their recipes, from their culture that uses fish," Horbul said. "It's a way for families to share recipes that mean a lot to them."
For more information about the project, contact Anti-Hunger Coalition Timmins at 705-262-2499 or [email protected].
Horbul can be contacted at [email protected] or 705-235-3487.
