by Rhonda Massad
Kerry’s kitchen is an initiative of En Famille, a Hope and Cope program of the Jewish General Hospital. This group of active volunteers deliver meals to families with a parent suffering from cancer.
Breast cancer survivor, Kerry Kaufman, was particularly moved when people rallied around her when she was ill. One of the the things she appreciated the most was the support she received to help care for her family.
“Carpools, play dates, grocery orders were among many of the things they did for me,” Kaufman said in an interview with The Suburban, “but cooking and delivering hot meals to my home was one of the most touching of all.”
Kaufman’s husband, Laurence Paperman, who was actively involved in the relatively new program of Hope and Cope at the Jewish General Hospital Segal Cancer Center called En Famille, encouraged her to give back to the community by making fresh meals for those in need.
“I love to cook, my passion is food,” Kaufman said, “it all fell neatly in place in October of 2011, starting from that first soup, lasagna dinner I made and delivered.”
According to Kaufman, En Famille is dedicated to offering professional support and resources for young families living with cancer. Its primary goal is to help meet the needs of parents diagnosed with cancer.
“Full meals from soup to salad to desert are delivered right to the door of the family,” Kaufman explained, “ sometimes people cry and sometimes we get hugs but we all benefit from the good feeling we get from helping others.”
After three years, a lot of work and help from a great team of volunteers Kerry’s kitchen has a West Island chapter initiated by well known Dollard Wise Women bloggers Elizabeth Weiner and Lisa Brookman. Meals are made by volunteers and delivered by volunteers all across the island of Montreal.
Today Kerry’s Kitchen delivers more than 300 meals a year to families and has stocked freezers a the Jewish General Hospital for Hope and Cope patients after a long day at the hospital.
For more information or to volunteer contact kerryskitchenef@gmail.com