Project 614 cookbook has all the ingredients of hope
By CLIFF WORTHING
Eating well on a tight budget can be a challenge for many people, so a chef with 10 years of experience at Project 614 in Melbourne has created a free cookbook to make it easier.
“We have been gob-smacked with the response, but it highlighted the need for a basic, easy-to-read cookbook,” said Adam Thomson, Hospitality Coordinator, Project 614. “You don’t need to be a chef, foodie, or financial counsellor to eat well.”
The cookbook, Meals to Make Ends Meet, focuses on recipes based on everyday kitchen supplies but with additional tips to make the food budget go further. It includes suggestions on creating many variants from one basic recipe, basic chopping techniques, growing your own herbs, substituting ingredients if you don’t have something available, and minimising food waste.
Adam explained that more people feel the financial cost of living pressures, and one-fifth of groceries bought in Australia are wasted.
“It’s bleak for a lot of people, and they feel they have lost control of their finances,” Adam said. “This book will give them hope with practical solutions.”
Project 614 collaborated with Pressroom Partners to design and print over 40,000 copies of the cookbook. They have been distributed at Centrelink offices around Australia, Salvos social mission programs, Salvos Trade store, and some corps are requesting copies.
“Services Australia have been very helpful in getting the cookbook to people who benefit from it,” said Major Brendan Nottle, Melbourne Project 614 Corps Officer. “We were discussing the concept with Nick, the Centrelink worker who works at the corps, and he championed the process with Services Australia.”
Brendan said he is getting new orders as more services become aware of the cookbook. The cookbook will be officially launched at Victoria Parliament on 22 March. To view the launch, click here
“Hospitality is for everyone,” Adam said. “We believe this cookbook will enable more people to host others without putting additional strain on finances.”
There are no hard copies left, but a PDF of the cookbook can be downloaded by clicking here
