Cooking classes help cut cost of living and boost social connection

Cain Stanley tends to a collection of garden beds housing a wide spread of homegrown fruit and vegetables that are destined for a meal he will help prepare the same day. The 28-year-old has found time in this garden, clearing away overgrown leaves and removing older plants, is now something he looks forward to each week as part of a regular cooking class.Mr Stanley has been taking part in the Cooking Outside the Box program at Berri in South Australia's Riverland for a few months and is excited about developing his cooking skills. Cain Stanley helps maintain the garden at the back of the Berri Community Centre. (ABC Riverland: Oliver Brown)Run by local not-for-profit ac.care and supported by Foodbank, it gives people confidence cooking on a budget and helps them find connection. "It's just me and my dog at home, so it's good to get out and actually speak to people," Mr Stanley said."I've done some of the pasta meals that we've made [at home], and they were good."The centre grows a range of fresh fruit and vegetables for general community use. (ABC Riverland: Oliver Brown)Cooking through cost-of-living crisisBerri Community Centre coordinator Sue Dayman meets people all the time who are doing it tough. The centre runs programs throughout the week and Ms Dayman said many encouraged people to be creative and make meaningful relationships.She said giving people tools to reduce financial pressure had been rewarding. "If the cost of cooking can be brought down, children may be able to join a sport [or] other things in the community," Ms Dayman said.Sue Dayman says Cooking Outside the Box has economic and social benefits for isolated Riverland residents. (ABC Riverland: Oliver Brown)"Everything costs so much these days [and] often we'll find that even those basic vegetables are such a cost."While the program and ac.care's garden offer many of the ingredients used, different cultural cuisines are included in meal preparation and participants are welcome to add their own ideas and tastes. "Everything's just evolved out of what the need is, and then people have really owned it," Ms Dayman said."We don't really run it; basically, the group runs themselves."Portia Priori regularly attends the cooking class. (ABC Riverland: Oliver Brown)Building up social confidenceAlongside the cooking, movement and fun are encouraged. One of the centre's volunteers recently added a Zumba session to help the participants work up an appetite while waiting for the culinary creation to be ready to plate. Ms Dayman said the group was made up of people from a range of ages, abilities, backgrounds and cultures and it had been special to watch their bond deepen over time."It's so good to see the connection, and people feel like they belong here," she said."We want it to be like a family … that they can come here with no judgement."Janet Becker, who started in the cooking group a year ago, is now proud to help lead the group, which has grown over time. Janet Becker says being in the class has made a huge difference to her mental health. (ABC Riverland: Oliver Brown)"When I first started, there was only a small group of us; [now] some days we have 20 people here, which is amazing," she said."I've made some really good friends, and it gets me out of the house and helps with my mental health."Ms Becker said the class had inspired her to cook for herself more at home and be mindful of helping the wider community. "[Once we] made a lot and we were able to feed the whole group plus some for the homeless out the front," she said.