A new initiative called Cooking for Justice is connecting Dawson College students with their community—and with each other—one pot of soup at a time. Led by Diana Rice of the Office of Sustainability, the project blends hands-on cooking with lessons in social justice, sustainability, and mutual aid, transforming classroom time into meaningful action.

“It started last year during Indigenous Awareness Week,” explains Diana Rice. “The students of the Decolonization and Indigenization Studies certificate and the Office of Sustainability teamed up to make Three Sisters Soup to donate to Resilience Montreal as our contribution to the week. The students enjoyed the work so much that I decided it would be a great repeat activity, but this time with the intention of working directly with teachers and their classes.”

The goals are ambitious yet grounded: offer faculty a fun, outside-the-classroom curricular activity; give students a chance to directly support their community; reduce students’ anxiety by engaging in social justice work; and support the development of teamwork, leadership, and social responsibility skills. “It’s not uncommon to have the desire to ‘do something’ that helps others, but we often don’t know how. This activity shows that there are simple ways to positively impact people’s lives,” Diana says.

The numbers speak to the project’s success so far: 219 students from six classes across various profiles, certificates, and disciplines have prepared and delivered 163 litres of food—roughly 12 meals for 150 people—to Resilience Montreal, a day shelter near campus that provides various services to the local unhoused population. Faculty and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many students appreciating the opportunity to learn practical skills and bond with peers during a class activity that counted for marks.

To manage the sessions, Diana coordinates with faculty early in the term, inviting interested teachers to participate and scheduling cooking days in harmony with course content. During sessions, students rotate through tasks like prepping, cooking supervision, dish duty, filling containers, cleaning, and delivery. “Students often self-assess and communicate their strengths and comfort levels with peers—someone uncomfortable with a knife might take on peeling or waste sorting. It’s wonderful to see this collaboration and leadership happen naturally,” she notes.

For many involved, Cooking for Justice is a chance to step outside comfort zones. “Most students don’t cook or clean for themselves regularly,” Diana said. “Many took on new responsibilities they’d never tried before, and by the end, seemed happy they did something for themselves and their community.”

Looking ahead, Rice hopes to evolve the project into a flipped classroom model, where students engage with readings, podcasts, or videos related to justice and sustainability before the cooking sessions. “I’d like to support faculty in helping students connect this hands-on work to broader course themes and critical reflections on why justice is inseparable from climate action and community health.”

Funding for Cooking for Justice was prioritized despite budget cuts, given its direct ties to student coursework and community impact. “Faculty are always looking for funded opportunities for out-of-class learning. This activity fills that need beautifully,” Diana says.

“It’s been an unbelievable joy to work with students and teachers to make this happen,” Diana said. “It reminds me why I work in education—young people don’t see the limitations we do. They refuse to accept constraints and dare to dream of a different world. No matter how dark the storm, there is always light afterward.”