Dovercourt Recreation Association is a recipient of an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.
It’s here!
The Open Door Kitchen, the WAVE team’s new social enterprise, is operating, having renovated and set up the kitchen with new appliances and equipment. WAVE apprentices are training, testing soup recipes and more.
Check out some of these mouth-watering soups:
- Spanish Roasted Red Pepper: Smooth peppers, bright tomatoes, and a hint of deep spices
- Butternut Parmesan: Creamy butternut squash, seasoned with parmesan & fresh thyme
- Roasted eggplant: Smokey eggplants and warm spices, blended with fresh parsley and coriander
- Creamy Mushroom and Thyme: Hearty chunks of tender mushrooms with fresh herbs and full cream
- Thai Coconut Sweet potato: Smooth and rich coconut milk blended with roasted sweet potato
Take them home, or heat them in our microwave to enjoy at Dovercourt.
June 25/26: Job Posting: Open Door Kitchen: Kitchen Team Lead
Open Door Kitchen is a social enterprise food production business located at Dovercourt Recreation Centre, creating and selling fresh soups, frozen meals, and pizzas through a smart fridge, corporate delivery program, and online orders. As part of the W.A.V.E. program, we provide training and meaningful employment for adults with developmental disabilities.
We are seeking a calm, organized, and hands-on leader with strong kitchen experience who can work independently and support others in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate brings experience training or leading staff in a kitchen setting, a solid understanding of food safety practices (certification required or willingness to obtain), and the ability to problem-solve under pressure. This role is well-suited to someone who is flexible, reliable, and passionate about inclusive employment and supporting individuals with diverse needs.
Read the full posting:
Kitchen team lead posting (pdf)
Please send a cover letter and CV to Caitlin Booth at cbooth@dovercourt.org
The Smartest fridge in Ottawa!
The Smart Vending Machine has arrived and is dispensing a variety of food items including homemade soup and healthy snacks in our upstairs lobby. Just tap your card, open the door, select your item(s), and the machine calculates what you’ve taken. It’s available anytime the building is open.
Read more about the WAVE Kitchen project story below!
Using the WAVE Program’s Self-Serve Fridge with Low Vision
One of our long-time clients, Shelley Ann Morris, has low vision and recently tried the ODK’s Smart Fridge for the first time. Here is her account of how user-friendly it is:
The WAVE Program offers a selection of prepared meals, snacks, and beverages that can be purchased from a self-serve fridge. I really wanted to support the WAVE initiative, but I was initially hesitant to try the fridge. As someone with low vision, I was concerned that I might encounter a step in the purchasing process that I would not be able to see or navigate independently.
Those concerns were put to rest.
After attending an evening fitness class, I was in the lobby getting my things together when I noticed another participant using the fridge. I heard a voice say, “Thank you,” when her purchase was complete, and realized that the fridge could ‘talk’. Curious, I asked her how the fridge worked, and she kindly showed me.
I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible the process was. The fridge has a card reader that recognizes a credit card. A voice indicated that the card was being verified, followed by a beep to let me know that the fridge had unlocked and I could take out my purchase. I noticed that City Citrus was available, so I treated myself to a cold drink. My classmate used her credit card to demonstrate the process, which was very kind of her.
The cost of the drink appeared on a screen in clear, bold print. After I closed the fridge door, a voice said, “Thank you.” That was a particularly welcome surprise. I was also told that the items are carefully arranged inside the fridge and that their weight allows the system to determine what has been removed.
As someone with low vision, I can see what is available inside the fridge. With my modified glasses, I was also able to read the labels on the side of the packaging because they were positioned so that they could be easily viewed. My classmate pointed out a smaller label indicating the best-before date, which was helpful to know.
After this experience, I feel much more confident about purchasing items from the fridge independently. The “smart” technology and the spoken prompts throughout the process are particularly helpful to me.
I do wonder whether the fridge could provide even more information through its voice prompts. For example, could it announce the price of an item when it is removed from the fridge? The menu’s print is a little small for me to read, although I can see what is available when I am wearing my glasses through the fridge’s large, glass window.
For people with less vision than I have, technology such as Be My Eyes, Meta smart glasses, or a smartphone camera may also provide useful assistance with reading printed information. These tools could make the experience even more accessible.
As I work full-time, I am not available on Fridays to pick up frozen meals purchased online. I plan to try the website as well and see how accessible it is for me when using screen magnification.
Overall, my first experience with the WAVE self-serve fridge was a very positive one. I appreciate the thought that has gone into making the technology easy to use, and I am glad that I now feel confident enough to use it on my own.
Donate to our community!
Make a monthly or one-time donation to provide meals to our community partners.
Open Door Kitchen is a social enterprise, part of Dovercourt Recreation Association, a registered charity.
