Accessibility in the Kitchen

The kitchen is brightly lit for safety purposes and there are many food textures and tasting opportunities. This may be overwhelming for folks with sensitivty to light, texture, or tastes.

The Kitchen can be a loud place- vents are running, the steam pot is heating up, pans are clanking around, and voices can be loud. This may bother people with a strong startle reflex or sensitivity to sound.

Accomodations

• Assistive Tools in the Kitchen (ear plugs, gloves)

• Request no music in the kitchen ahead of time or while you are there

• You can always choose what to touch and what work you do

• You never have to taste the food if you are not comfortable

• Join a monday prep party or morning shift- these are quieter and slow paced

• Take breaks when needed

We are a fragrency free space, however, we may use strong spices in the kitchen. For folks with a sensitivity to smells, this can overpowering.

Accomodations

-Take frequent breaks

-Do not work directly with the spices

-Find out what we are cooking ahead of time

The kitchen is designed for cooks to stand while working. This may be difficult for folks with chronic pain, mobility challenges, or use a mobility device. Unfortunately, at this time our kitchen is not accessible for wheelchair users or folks that require seating while cooking.

What are we doing about this?

We are currently looking at how to change the kitchen infrastructure, to allow for food prep while sitting down/ using a mobility device. We aim to implement this changes by 2023.

Accomodations

• Kitchen mats are available to decrease pain while standing

• There is a chair in the kitchen and plenty of accessible seating in the building for breaks

Alternative volunteer opportunities

Virtual volunteering, such as submitting recipes and making signage for the kitchen is very valuable to us! Interested in getting involved as a virtual volunteer? Check out our Volunteering and Get Involved pages for more info!

We use quite sharp knives to cut hardy vegetable in the kitchen. This may pose challenges for folks with a mobility/dexterity impairment and/or low vision, as well as those not comfortable working with sharp knives.

What we are doing about it?

We are currently looking into more accessible kitchen tools. We hope to implement this by 2023.

Accomodations

• We have cut resistant gloves available

• You never have to use a tool you are not comfortable with

• Check out a serving shift, this requires less chopping and more serving!

English is the main language spoken in the kitchen. However, we welcome all levels of english fluency! We are happy to explain things slowly and demonstrates tasks nonverbally. Staff also love learning veggie names in different languages! The kitchen is a great places to pratice english and teach others your language and culture!

All Loaded Ladle staff are certified with Food Safey, which is praticed in the kitchen at all times. However, our industrial kitchen can pose potential risk when proceedures are not followed.

This may include:

• Close to extreme heat from stove, pots, pans, and sanitizer. This heat has the potential to burn or injure if not properly handled.

• Heavy lifting of pots and produce, please do not carry these items alone/delegate this task if you will be subject to injury.

• Slipper floors can occur with spills and dropped food. Please notify staff of a spill so they can clean it up.

• The kitchen follows COVID resitricted set by the DSU, continues to wear masks, and tests when necesary, however, covid may still be transmissable. If you are not comfortable with in-person volunteering check out our virtual volunteering now!

You can expect slightly different environments at different time-slots - here is a description so you can choose what’s best for you :)

• Evening Prep Parties (4 pm – 6.30 pm): Preparation for the week ahead! Lots of chopping/baking in a calmer setting.

  These prep parties are less noisy as we often do not have anything running, and there is less urgency to make a serving!

• Tuesday & Thursday Breakfast Club (9 am to 11 am): Helping set up a breakfast station and serving breakfast at the IDEA Bldg on Sexton Campus.

  This is not in the kitchen so if fluorescent light and standing up throughout volunteering is a concern, this may be a good opportunity!

• Tuesday-Friday, Morning Food Cooking (9.30 am – 12.15 pm): Help prepare & cook for the lunch serving! Lots of chopping, stirring, and baking involved!

  This is when it is the loudest in the kitchen, there is conversation, pots boiling up, oven running. Also closer to serving time the pace may pick, though you are welcome to leave and take a break at any time!

• Tuesday-Friday, Afternoon Serving (12.15 pm - 2 pm): Help serve delicious hot lunch to 200+ people!!! Some clean-up may be involved 👀

  Serving food back-to-back! Involves standing up!

• Tuesday-Friday, Afternoon Clean-up (2pm - 3pm): Help clean the dishes and mop and such after a long day of serving!

  Quiter/calming setting while cleaning.