Lesley Siegloff, President of the Zonta Club of Adelaide Flinders, opened a very special event this morning (Thursday 5th Novmber 2020) where certificates of completion to the graduates of the ‘Food for Thought’ Program were awarded. It was also a celebration of the launch of our recipe book, where all meals prepared by the wonderful women who participated in the program were showcased.

It was wonderful to welcome South Australian Assistant Minister for Domestic and Family Violence Protection, Ms Carolyn Power MP who officiated by handing out the certificates offering each Graduate an elbow ‘handshake’ which added to the fun of the occasion.

This project has been a joint venture between Zonta Club of Adelaide Flinders Inc and the Zahra Foundation, to assist women to become more self confident in preparing nutritious meals for themselves and their families.  Our thanks must also go to the staff at 19 on the Green in Bowden, who supported us to be able to present a high value event today.

BACKGROUND 

This project was awarded to us as an International Grant (celebrating 100 years) from Zonta International. We were the only club in SA to be awarded such a grant.  Our thanks to the development team –  Cintra Amos, Susan McDonald, Lesley Siegloff and Carolyn Palmer.

Partnership with the Zahra Foundation a community based organisation, has proved to be a wonderful partner.  A huge thank you to Kae, who was responsible for financial management, and championing the project to assist our club to realize an extremely successful project.  We couldn’t have managed the grant without her endeavor in contacting the participants (privacy requirement).

It is also fitting to thank our three cook and demonstrators who led the workshops, planned, shopped, budgeted and to the Zonta volunteers who assisted at the workshops.

Written and verbal feedback from participants highlighted  their enjoyment of sessions, the skills and knowledge they developed, the friendships they made with us and with each other, that they felt safe and happy attending these sessions and their children and families enjoyed their new cooking skills.

It is hoped that we will be able to offer more sessions in the future, and we will be applying for further funding to achieve this aim.