Santa Maria students cooking for homeless

What is Shopfront?

 Shopfront is a drop in and referral centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in WA, run mainly by volunteers, where people from all walks of life are welcome. The role of Shopfront is to help relieve poverty and suffering in a welcoming environment that offers assistance, fellowship & hospitality.

Santa Maria girls help shopfront through weekly cook ups

The cook ups are held by the Young Mercies co-curricular group every Tuesday and Wednesday after school. Up to ten pairs of girls can join in to help out at each session.

What do the girls cook?

Each week our girls receive the details of the weekly recipe to ensure they come prepared with the right ingredients. A range of different dishes are cooked including spaghetti bolognaise, cottage pie, chilli con carne, a range of soups, lasagne, different flavoured muffins and chocolate brownies, just to name a few!  The meals are packaged and labelled with a list of all ingredients and stored in the cool rooms at the College until they are collected by Shopfront volunteers.

What do the girls get out of the Cook Up experience?

By participating in the cook ups, our girls develop their own culinary skills, often going on to prepare the recipes for their families at home! Our students learn hygiene food practices, a range of cooking techniques, organisational skills, general life skills and importantly empathy and compassion for the recipients of the meals.

Below are some comments from students involved in Shopfront

“Cook ups is a fun and enjoyable way to give back to the community. After cooking the meals, you get a sense of pride that the food is going to families who are less fortunate than yourself and knowing  you are making a difference. I do cook ups because it doesn’t feel like it’s service, but a very enjoyable experience.”  Olivia Gumina, Year 10

“I really enjoy doing Cook ups. I enjoy meeting new people and using my hobby of cooking to help others in the community. I love spending time with friends who I do cook ups with and using our talents to help others. Also, the food we make is really yummy and we then have the opportunity to make it for our families when we get home. I like hearing the stories about how our service to the community makes a difference to many people’s lives.”

Maya Faulds, Year 10