The Kitchen & Gathering Place
It’s all about the Kitchen! We are interested in the return of the kitchen as the gathering hub of the home, family, and community.
There’s the kitchen in the home where daily meals are prepared and shared around the table with family conversations. At least it used to be that way, and though the kitchen might be losing its beloved status at the heart of the home, we don’t want that to happen. We want to honor that home kitchen again and encourage its return to the center of the home and family, even if you happen to live by yourself.
Then there’s the community kitchen where food processors come to be licensed and coached about how to make and sell foods to stores, restaurants, farmers markets, distributors, catered events, and online. It will also be a place to learn how to cook, preserve food, and experiment with new recipes and ideas with friends.
But we want our community kitchen to be something more, a gathering place to sit yourself down with a cup of something warm, soothing and freshly made. Envision the pot-bellied stove, pickle barrel, oak chairs and the sounds of great conversations going on where problems are being solved, inspirations shared and you actually spend some time with your neighbors. It’s a connection, a very important connection that has been lost and we’ve decided to do something about it!
This concept only exists in our minds right now, with many potentials for a location. If you are interested in pulling together as a community around this common goal to make it real, please join us at some or all our upcoming events!
Events coming up are the film showings of The Biggest Little Farm at Yelm Cinemas Monday, January 20, 3pm, 5:15pm, 7pm, only $6. There are so many reasons why this is a must-see, the least not being one of the farmer founders is a wildlife photographer. If you want to get a new view of the world, this is it. We’ll be there too to introduce you to Food Prosperity Central! Bring a friend or two or three or more. Plus you get to see it on the big screen in comfy chairs!
Then this coming Thursday, January 23 at the Yelm Community Center from 6-8pm we will be holding our 2nd Local Food/Homemade Potluck. Our keynote speaker is Alex Durney, Farm Manager from Colvin Ranch in Tenino to talk to us about Regenerative Farming. It will also be an opportunity to meet your neighbors and to find out exciting things they are up to or hope to be up to this season, and to have a delicious homemade meal around a table, a concept we are resurrecting. Hope to see you there. Please pre-register on our website so we can plan accordingly. Here is the link: https://foodprosperitycentral.org
Then if that’s not cool enough, put Saturday, February 8 on your calendar at the Yelm Community Center 10am-5pm for our 1st Open House w/Classes event. This will be an opportunity to learn more about our projects and organizations in our community like South Sound Seed Saver Stewards, and to learn about composting, lacto-fermentation, our Egg project, our Farmer & Gardener project and so much more. Our goal is to increase the production of local food in our community whether it be a garden or a farm, and how to turn it into products that can be sold increasing access to healthy local ready-to-eat foods while strengthening our local economy. Oh, you’ll want to check out our Cottage Industry project too. Big vision with an inspired community can work wonders!