OTF Grant Supports Cooking Connections: Loving Spoonful

Kingston, ON – On Friday, Loving Spoonful celebrated the $750,000 Grow grant they received
from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to support Cooking Connections – Overcoming Stigma.
The grant supported staffing and other costs associated with the program.

"Social connections with other people are so important for well-being and the Cooking
Connections program utilizes the sense of community created by sharing good food to help
participants build confidence and learn anti-stigma strategies,” said Ted Hsu, MPP for Kingston
and Islands. “The program’s admirable commitment to the continued well-being of its
participants through its partnership with Providence Care will help participants adjust and utilize
what they have learned from the program in their everyday lives.”

Thanks to this grant, Loving Spoonful has continued to deliver Cooking Connections –
Overcoming Stigma programs in Kingston, Napanee and Perth. The eight-week workshop
series brings people living with mental health and/or substance use disorders out of isolation by
combining cooking and eating together with the overcoming stigma workshops.  Thanks to the
generosity of this OTF grant, Cooking Connections will continue to impact numerous individuals
living in our community until the end of March 2025.

“Food is a vehicle for bringing people together,” says Tibratā Gillies. “There is a special kind of
magic that happens when people cook and eat together. Through the process of preparing
meals, food acts as a bridge that enhances relationships and creates strong bonds.”
For more information about signing up for Cooking Connections, please contact Cherilyn
Burnell, Community Kitchens Coordinator at cherilyn@lovingspoonful.org.

Loving Spoonful is committed to building community around good, local food across the
Kingston area, providing programs and championing policies that build capacity in the local food
system. With a strong focus on building a resilient and equitable local food system, Loving
Spoonful advocates for food sovereignty, access to food, and equity, diversity and inclusion. If
you wish to find out more about the work that Loving Spoonful does, please visit our website at:
www.lovingspoonful.org

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of
Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and
making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022
community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.