Home for the Holidays: Community Recipes and the Warmth of Affordable Housing Stability
The holidays are about more than food — they’re about connection, belonging and the comfort of knowing you have a place to gather with family and friends.
At More Than a Roof Foundation, we see every day how a stable home becomes the foundation for so much more: sharing meals, passing down traditions, and creating memories that last a lifetime.
This Christmas, we’re celebrating that sense of home by sharing affordable recipes from across our More Than a Roof community — dishes that reflect the diverse cultures, resilient families, and vibrant stories that make our neighborhoods so special.
Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients. It’s a story of heritage and hope — of families who, thanks to the security of stable housing, can open their doors, welcome loved ones, and celebrate what really matters.
Soul Kitchen’s Carrot Ginger Soup: A Recipe to Tackle Food Insecurity
Enjoy this cozy seasonal favorite from Chef Levi and the Soul Kitchen Team with your own family.
You will need:
– Olive oil
– Onions, diced
– Carrots, peeled and cubbed
– Ginger, peeled and grated
– Yams, peeled and cubbed
– Vegetable stock
– Coconut milk
To prepare the soup:
1. Heat pot at a medium heat and add olive oil and onions. Cook onions until they are translucent.
2. Add cut and peeled carrots and ginger. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and add cut and peeled yams and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil.
4. Simmer for approximately 25-30 minutes.
5. Turn off soup, adding the coconut milk a bit at a time while blending with an immersion blender.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Return to low heat for 5 minutes and serve.
Why are there no amounts?
Soul Kitchen is More Than a Roof’s practical, low-barrier response to the daily challenges of food insecurity for folks living at four of our Downtown Vancouver locations.
The team at Soul Kitchen works with what they can get hands on each week. They’re resourceful, creative and adaptable. This recipe evolves each time it’s used, based on what’s available and how many people we have to feed that day. Have fun adapting this recipe for your own family or neighbours!
Scott’s Family Toutiere: A Recipe for Connection & Heritage
For Scott, holiday cooking is his way of remembering loved ones and connecting with his maternal French-Canadian roots, tracing his francophone lineage back to when Quebec City was first established.
“When my mom passed away several years ago, I had an urge to connect with holiday traditions from her side of the family. What I discovered was how much I enjoy a toutiere and maple-flavoured anything.”
What you’ll need:
Filling:
– 2 pounds of ground beef, pork and lamb
– 1 onion, diced
– 2 large garlic cloves
– ¼ tsp of nutmeg
– ¼ tsp of allspice
– ¾ tsp of sage
– ½ tsp of thyme
– 1 tsp of black pepper
– ¾ tsp of salt
Dough:
– 3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
– ½ tsp of salt
– 1 cup of butter (chilled)
– ½ cup of ice water
Sauce:
– 4 Tbs butter
– ¾ cup of cream
– 1/3 cup of maple syrup
– ½ tsp of salt
To prepare the tourtiere
Meat filling
– Heat oven to 375 degrees celsius
– Brown the meat. Drain liquid and set meat aside.
– In the same pan, saute the onions over medium heat. Once they are soft, add chopped garlic and spices.
– Add meat back to the pan, stir and keep warm.
Dough
– Make the dough (every family seems to have their favourite way to do this).
– Line a pie plate with the dough, reserving some dough for the top of the toutiere.
– Fill the pie with the meat filling and place the remaining dough on top, being sure to pinch the edges to seal the pie.
Sauce
– Melt butter in a sauce pan.
– Add cream, syrup and salt.
– Stir continuously until the sauce comes to a boil.
– Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
Janet’s Gingerbread Cookies: A Recipe for Community & Friendship
For Janet and her family, Christmas has always meant the scent of warm gingerbread drifting through their home — a tradition that’s been passed down and shared with neighbors for generations.
You will need:
– ¾ cups of butter
– 1 cup of sugar
– 2 tablespoons of Fancy molasses
– 1 egg
– 2 and ½ cups of flour
– 1 tsp ginger
– ½ tsp allspice
– 1 and ½ tsp of baking soda
To prepare the cookies:
– Mix all ingredients together.
– Form the dough into 2 or 3 discs, wrap in wax paper and chill in fridge for one hour.
– Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
– Bake at 375F for 12 minutes.
Janet always makes extra batches to share — leaving plates of cookies with her neighbors as a simple way to say, “I appreciate your friendship.”
At More Than a Roof Foundation, we know that food is more than nourishment — it’s connection. When you support our programs, like Soul Kitchen, you’re not just filling plates, you’re building relationships, fostering community, and helping residents find stability and opportunity that last well beyond the holidays.
More Than a Roof’s Affordable Housing: A Recipe for Stability & Hope
We know that each recipe tells a story — of family, of community and of the comfort that comes from having a safe place to gather together.
Around every table in the More Than a Roof affordable housing community, there’s a reminder that stability is more than a roof over our heads: it’s the foundation for joy, tradition and togetherness.
As we share these dishes and the stories behind them, we celebrate the strength and diversity of our residents — and the donors, partners and supporters who make this work possible.
Together, we can continue to help thousands of British Columbians break cycles of poverty. By providing our residents with housing security, they can build brighter futures for themselves and their families by focusing on their health, education, employment, and community.