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New Recipe for Food & Community Connection
The Kitchen Yea
Yea is a beautiful country town that many Victorians know as the place where you stop before you drive on to Mt Buller. We have a historic High Street, where our shops open their doors to locals and tourists. Some sell the necessary bits and pieces needed by farmers and local tradies, while others tempt you with a coffee to sip on while enjoying a country bakery pie or custard tart.
As you drive past or walk along, what you do not immediately see is that in Yea, like regional towns all across Australia, people are struggling with food insecurity, rising costs, and the gradual loss of cooking knowledge that once passed naturally between generations. Alongside this, loneliness and isolation are affecting people of all ages throughout the community. The Kitchen began with the observation that people are craving connection, and food has always been the most familiar way to bring people together. From that realisation, we knew we had an opportunity to create something that could make a meaningful difference within the community.
THE KITCHEN IS NOT A CHARIT Y MODEL . W E A R E N O T S I M P LY H A N D I N G S O M E T H I N G O U T. This model is about teaching, participation and dignity. Older locals sharing knowledge, young families learning practical cooking skills, volunteers preparing nourishing meals, and children having a safe and caring place to gather and eat before or after school. For this first pilot site, our vision is to transform the old newsagency building into a warm, welcoming and beautiful space that feels more like a cooking school than a traditional community food program. A place where people of all ages feel comfortable walking through the door, standing at the bench, sharing a meal, learning something new, or simply spending time with others. Together with the experience of the charitable foundation Alex Makes Meals, and the enthusiastic support of local organisations throughout Yea, we have both the vision for what this can become and the determination to bring it to life. The Kitchen will become something that reaches far beyond food. A place that strengthens connection within the community, restores dignity through participation, and reminds people what it feels like to gather around a table together again.
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The Rhythm of the Day
7:00am
THE LIGHTS COME ON
8:20am
B R E A K FA S T I S S E R V E D
10:00am
APRONS GO ON
10:30am
FROM THE GARDEN BEDS
2:00pm
FOOD IS SHARED
3:30pm
U NTIL TOMORROW
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7:00am THE LIGHTS COME ON Lights are already on in homes across Yea as we unlock the door to The Kitchen and begin preparing for the day ahead. Before the doors open, the kitchen begins quietly. Tea is brewed. Bread from the local bakery is unpacked onto the bench. Pots are placed on the stove and ingredients for the day ahead slowly begin to gather. One of our regulars arrives carrying herbs picked from their garden that morning. Another stops in with fresh eggs. Someone else walks through the back door simply wanting company and a warm cup of tea before the day begins. The Kitchen is never only about the food. It is about the small moments that happen around it. The conversations that begin while vegetables are chopped. The familiar faces that return. The feeling of purpose that comes from preparing something together. As the country town outside comes to life, so does the room.
T H E R H Y T H M O F T H E D AY
8:20am B R E A K FA S T I S S E R V E D By the time the school rush begins, breakfast is already waiting on the bench. Egg and bacon wraps rolled into paper. Breakfast burgers prepared earlier that morning. Overnight oats prepared the night before and muffins baked in the morning, with a rotating selection of fresh fruit. Some kids stay for a few minutes and eat together before class. Others grab breakfast on their way through the door and continue walking towards the school gates. The kitchen is loud now. Busy in the best kind of way.
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T H E R H Y T H M O F T H E D AY
10:00am
10:30am
APRONS GO ON
FROM THE GARDEN BEDS
By mid morning, the kitchen settles into rhythm.
Not everything that comes through The Kitchen arrives in a box.
Recipes are spread across the bench while large pots begin simmering on the stove. Conversations move naturally between practical tasks and everyday life. Someone rolls pastry while another chops herbs picked that morning. A volunteer quietly labels containers for meals that will later be delivered across the wider community. There is no rush to leave. People stay because they feel useful here. Some come for company. Others come because cooking for others gives structure and purpose to their day. Retirees share knowledge that once passed naturally between generations. Younger volunteers learn beside them. At the centre of it all is participation. Not as a program or activity, but as something deeply human. The simple act of preparing food together and feeling part of something again.
Some of it begins with a handful of seeds, a raised garden bed and a conversation. In the back garden volunteers tend seasonal vegetables, herbs and other plants. Beans are picked in the afternoon sun. Seedlings are planted for the months ahead. Garden beds are watered, weeded and cared for by many different hands. But the garden grows more than food. It gives people a reason to spend time together. To share knowledge. To swap stories. To work alongside someone they may never have met otherwise. The garden and the kitchen are never really separate. People move easily between the two. One minute harvesting herbs outside, the next sitting around the communal table, sharing lunch, a cup of tea and good company. There is a quiet pride in carrying a basket of freshly picked produce through the back door and into the kitchen. Ingredients grown by local hands becoming part of a meal shared with neighbours, families and friends. The vegetables are only part of what grows here.
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2:00pm FOOD IS SHARED By mid afternoon, the cooking is done. Meals have been packed, labelled and set aside for later delivery. Around the communal table, lunch is shared and the conversation turns to everything from family and farming to recipes and local news. Around the table sit people who may never have crossed paths otherwise. Long-time locals alongside newcomers. Retirees beside young families. Volunteers, visitors and people simply looking for good food and good company. Some people arrive for a meal and stay for the conversation. Others have been there since early morning and are in no hurry to leave. For many, The Kitchen slowly becomes part of the rhythm of the week.
T H E R H Y T H M O F T H E D AY
3:30pm U NTIL TOMORROW The last plates are stacked and the final cups are washed. Chairs are pushed back under tables. Tea towels hang to dry. Someone wipes down the bench while another folds aprons and shares one last story before heading home. The meals prepared today have already started making their way out the door. Some will be shared around family tables tonight. Others will be waiting in fridges and freezers, ready for the days ahead. Tomorrow’s recipes have already been discussed. New volunteers will arrive. Someone is bringing lemons from their tree. A sponge cake has already been promised for an early treat as we come together again.
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Ingredients, Tools and Other Important Things
Every good recipe relies on more than the ingredients listed on the page There are the things that rarely appear in the method. The people who arrive early and stay late. The experience gathered over years. The partnerships that open doors. The tools that make the work possible. The generosity that keeps the lights on and the pantry full. The Kitchen is no different. Behind every meal shared, every child fed before school and every conversation held around the communal table are countless ingredients that make this recipe work. Before we look ahead, we'd like to introduce a few of them. The people, partnerships, experience and support helping bring The Kitchen to life in Yea and, in time, beyond it.
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The people behind the kitchen
J OA N N E BAI LE Y
ALEX DEKKER
Joanne Bailey is the founder of The Kitchen.
Alex Dekker is the founder of Alex Makes Meals, a not-for-profit organisation he founded in 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex began with one lasagne, made for his sister, a frontline healthcare worker. But, seeing an increasing need, he gathered a handful of volunteers and started scaling.
She has spent much of her career developing and bringing products to market in the FMCG sector. Over many years she has created multiple products and brands that have been sold nationally through Coles and Woolworths in Australia, and internationally through Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom. Working with manufacturers, retailers and strategic partners, Joanne has built extensive experience turning ideas into successful commercial ventures. After spending the past seven years living in the Yea region, Joanne developed a deep appreciation for regional communities and recognised the need for a new approach to addressing food insecurity and social isolation. Her vision for The Kitchen grew from a simple belief that some of life’s most important conversations happen around a kitchen bench, and that food has a unique ability to bring people together. Together with Alex Makes Meals and a growing network of supporters, partners and volunteers, Joanne is leading the establishment of the pilot Kitchen in Yea, with a vision to see the model replicated in regional communities across Victoria and beyond. For Joanne, The Kitchen is about creating places where people feel welcome, valued and connected, one shared meal at a time.
Today, Alex Makes Meals produces more than 4,000 meals every week, with a focus on quality and nutritional value. The organisation partners with other charities and community groups, who deliver meals to the people who need them most, alongside their other services. Alex is driven by the belief that food brings people together, and that is the foundation Alex Makes Meals is built upon. The organisation has a strong network of partnerships across the corporate, philanthropic and community sectors, as well as a team of more than 65 dedicated volunteers. Alex Makes Meals is proud to establish The Kitchen Yea as its first hub in regional Victoria. This model combines food relief with education and nutritional literacy, addressing one of the key drivers of food insecurity, while offering a solution. Working alongside Jo Bailey, the AMM team have shaped this model, informed by experience and designed to meet the needs of rural communities. Together, they share the belief that food is about more than what’s on the plate. It’s a powerful way to create connection, purpose and community.
I N G R E D I E N T S , T O O L S A N D O T H E R I M P O R TA N T T H I N G S
M I T C H C AT L I N Mitch Catlin has spent more than two decades working across journalism, communications, marketing and media. After beginning his career in broadcast journalism with the Seven and Ten networks, along with radio roles at 2UE and 3AW, Mitch moved into senior corporate communications and marketing positions with both Myer and Swisse Wellness, where he was a member of the leadership team. He has also worked in both state and federal political offices and served as an elected Board Director of Netball Australia, including as a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. After running his own communications agency for almost eight years, Mitch founded Australian Life, a media and commerce business dedicated to celebrating Australian makers, producers and businesses. Mitch brings extensive experience in media, public relations, strategic communications and audience engagement. His expertise in storytelling and building public awareness helps organisations connect with communities, attract support and create lasting impact.
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The Kitchen Yea is just the beginning...
I N G R E D I E N T S , T O O L S A N D O T H E R I M P O R TA N T T H I N G S
This is where we will learn, refine and strengthen the model. It is where we will discover what works best, what challenges emerge and how a welcoming kitchen can become part of the rhythm of a regional community. But Yea was never intended to be the final destination. Across regional Victoria there are communities facing many of the same challenges. Rising living costs. Social isolation. Fewer places where people can gather, contribute, learn new skills and build meaningful connections with those around them. The Kitchen has been designed as a model that can be replicated. The pilot Kitchen in Yea will provide the foundation for future Kitchens in other regional communities. It is intended for towns where food insecurity, social isolation and limited opportunities for connection are increasingly being felt, but where strong local networks and community spirit already exist. Future locations will be identified through the lessons learned in Yea and through partnerships with communities that are ready to embrace and shape The Kitchen for themselves. Each Kitchen will look a little different. The people around the table will change. The recipes may vary. The conversations will belong to the community that gathers there. Yet the heart of the model remains the same. A place where people can gather around food and feel a sense of belonging. A place where skills are shared, confidence grows and relationships are built. A place where the simple act of cooking and eating together creates stronger, more connected communities.
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Drawing on experience Every good recipe starts with quality ingredients. But the best ones are also built on experience. The Kitchen is not beginning from scratch. It has been shaped by years of practical experience bringing people together through food, developing partnerships and building organisations that make a lasting difference. Behind The Kitchen sits Alex Makes Meals, an established Australian charity that prepares and distributes thousands of nutritious meals every week through a network of more than sixty charity and community partners. The systems, knowledge and operational experience developed over those years provide a strong foundation for what is being created in Yea. The Kitchen also brings together experience from the commercial world. Years spent developing products, building brands and working with manufacturers, retailers and strategic partners have helped shape an approach that is practical, sustainable and designed for long term success.
Just as importantly, this project has attracted people who believe in what is possible. Designers, builders, local businesses, volunteers, community organisations and corporate partners have all stepped forward to contribute their skills, time and resources. Every contribution strengthens the recipe. Rather than simply creating another place to prepare meals, The Kitchen has been designed as a model that can grow. The lessons learned in Yea will help shape future Kitchens in regional communities across Victoria, allowing local people to adapt the recipe to meet the needs of their own towns while remaining true to the same purpose. The Kitchen may feel warm, welcoming and familiar. Behind the scenes it is also carefully planned, thoughtfully designed and built on experience.
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I N G R E D I E N T S , T O O L S A N D O T H E R I M P O R TA N T T H I N G S
Built by many hands Before the first meal is shared, before the first apron is tied and before the doors open, The Kitchen is already being built by an extraordinary community of people who believe in what this project can become. Some have contributed financially. Others have donated their expertise, materials, services and time. Designers have volunteered their creativity. Tradespeople have shared their skills. Local businesses have pledged products and support. Community organisations have offered encouragement, practical assistance and helping hands. Volunteers have stepped forward ready to be part of the journey. This growing network of support reflects something important. The Kitchen is not being created by one person or one organisation. It is being built by a community that believes food can be a powerful way to create connection, dignity and belonging.
A N D W E A R E O N LY J U S T G E T T I N G S TA R T E D .
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A seat at the table Throughout this book you have met some of the people who will gather around The Kitchen table. Children stopping in before school for something to eat. Volunteers sharing skills, stories and friendship. People learning to cook, growing food in the garden, preparing meals for others and finding a place where they belong. You have seen how a simple kitchen can become something much bigger than the food being prepared inside it. Now we’d like to invite you to take a seat at the table. Not as a guest, but as one of the people who helps build it. Your financial support will help bring The Kitchen Yea to life, transforming an empty building into a place where people can gather, cook, learn, contribute and belong. There is still much to do before The Kitchen can open its doors and people can gather, learn, contribute and share meals together. The building itself needs to be transformed. Construction works, services,
accessibility upgrades, commercial kitchen infrastructure, equipment, cool rooms, storage, furnishings and all the countless details that turn an empty building into a place where people feel welcome. Every part of the project relies on the support of those who believe in what The Kitchen can become. But more than funding infrastructure, supporters are helping create something that will serve communities for many years to come. The Kitchen Yea is the first chapter of a much larger story. It is the pilot for a model designed to be replicated in regional communities across Victoria, creating places where people can gather, contribute, learn, share meals and build meaningful connections with those around them. Every contribution helps write the next chapter. We ask you to join us as a founding donor or sponsor of The Kitchen Yea, helping create a place where people can gather, cook, learn, contribute and belong.
THE DOOR IS OPEN.
Pull up a chair
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N Jo Bailey e: jo@alexmakesmeals.com M: 0413 337 766