On any given evening at the Shelbourne Community Kitchen, you’ll find people gathered around a table, chopping vegetables, sharing stories and laughing together. It might look like a simple meal, but for many of the families who join us, it’s something much more.
One grandmother has been part of our Kitchen community for years. When her granddaughter was little, she brought her to our family Halloween nights; crafting, cooking and connecting with other families. Now, years later, they stand side by side in our Supper Club for Families program.
It’s their turn to share their favourite weeknight meal for the other families in the program who are setting the table.
Her grandson also participated in Supper Club for Families, and it was through that experience that he began volunteering with us. This spring, he’s stepping into a leadership role as a co-lead for our youth after school cooking program, Skillz and Skillets, helping to shape an exciting new program, where youth age 12 to17 learn to make healthy lunches for school and dinners to take home for their family.
For this grandmother, The Kitchen has also been a place of friendship and belonging. Through our Elder’s Kitchen program, which brings low-income seniors together for regular lunches and provides BC Farmers’ Market coupons, she not only helps prepare meals, but has also built meaningful relationships. As she shared:
“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the incredible work the community kitchen does. Their programs are truly fantastic and have made a big difference in my life. I’ve had the pleasure of helping with the elderly dinners, which has not only allowed me to contribute but also led me to a wonderful new friend. We’ve enjoyed outings together, like visiting the farmers’ market. I’ve also been involved in the family dinners and it’s always a joy to cook and socialize with everyone.”
Supporting food security across Greater Victoria
The Shelbourne Community Kitchen is a warm and welcoming neighbourhood food centre, gratefully operating on traditional Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ territory. With a staff team of four, a committed board of directors and more than 330 incredible volunteers, The Kitchen works to lower barriers to healthy food for 1950 adults and 875 children who live in food insecure households across Saanich and Greater Victoria.
In 2025, The Kitchen distributed more than 83,000 pounds of food — 11,800 pounds of which we grew ourselves — and prepared over 2,000 meals together.
Work rooted in four interconnected program areas:
Our Pantry Program offers monthly self-select grocery support, providing fresh produce, proteins, staples and household items, alongside grocery gift cards. Our home delivery service ensures healthy food can reach people living with chronic illness or mobility barriers.
Our Food Skills Programs bring people together to cook and share meals. From meal kits and cooking classes to our Supper Club for Families, these programs build confidence, reduce isolation and create connection across cultures and generations.
Through our Garden Programs, we also steward two garden sites where volunteers grow fresh produce to support our Pantry and Food Skills Programs, while hosting events and offering hands-on workshops to support food growing at home.
Finally, our Resource and Referral Program connects people with additional community service organizations and supports, recognizing that food insecurity is closely tied to income, housing and access to services.
Community food security and resilience
For the past 10 years, our partnership with the Victoria Foundation has helped make our work possible. As both an Endowment Fund holder and grant recipient, we’ve been able to grow sustainably, while responding to evolving community needs.
The strength of an endowment fund allows us to think long-term, investing in food access today, and in connection, skill-building and resilience for the future.
Looking ahead, we are proud to have recently launched our Legacy Giving Program.
This initiative invites community members to consider how they might support food security and community connection for generations to come. Legacy gifts will help strengthen our long-term sustainability as an organization and ensure that Shelbourne Community Kitchen remains a vibrant, welcoming space well into the future.
What makes our work truly meaningful at the Shelbourne Community Kitchen are the relationships we build along the way; a grandmother passing down recipes, while making memories with her family in programs that help stretch a limited budget; a granddaughter building confidence in the kitchen and helping to prepare dinners; a teenager volunteering and stepping into a leadership role.
The Shelbourne Community Kitchen is more than a place to get some help with groceries, it’s a place where support networks are formed, friends are made and a sense of community belonging can always be found.
To learn more about our programs or ways to get involved, visit: shelbournecommunitykitchen.ca