1,000 Meals Delivered – What A Ride!
It’s been almost a year since we stood before the 100 Women of Whistler, a collective bundle of nerves, and pitched for seed-funding to serve 1,000 hot dinners to locals seeking connection and struggling to make ends meet. Elated (and even a bit scared) at being chosen by 100 Women to deliver these meals, we charged at our next big hurdle—finding a venue where we could get a food safety permit to cook for a crowd. At times we feared we’d have to shamefacedly give 100 WOW their money back, unable to deliver on our promise, but when Whistler Mountain Ski Club took us in things began to fall into place and on April 13th we served our one thousandth dinner! Olly, our unsuspecting thousandth guest, was quietly enjoying his butter chicken when we ROCKS board members suddenly surrounded him, whooping, ringing bells and popping poppers in celebration of the milestone occasion and the exhilarating first year it’s been. Olly took it gracefully and was the perfect 1,000th candidate, as he himself had been at 10 of our 11 meals, and was already a huge fan.
P.S Check out the Pique article that summarizes this well!
A Place at the Table – The Momentum Continues
It’s been an incredible journey and pleasure for us to serve the 1,000 meals and we can’t wait to reach our next goal of 2,000! We started planning how ROCKS could keep going when our seed-funding from 100 WOW ran out and on April 1st the Whistler Community Foundation answered that question with a $5,000 grant!
Whistler Community Foundation has a mission to support organizations delivering critical programs and services to local communities. WCF Board Chair Luke Ferdinands said that their board “is out in the community as much as possible, seeing firsthand that local non-profits are addressing complex challenges with remarkable determination and care.” We’re so honoured that WCF ranked our Place at the Table application “a top priority,” observing of ROCKS that “the grassroots registered charity has already seen significant success in addressing critical and current needs of the community while nurturing a sense of belonging.” WCF, thank you so much for enabling us to continue!
Thanks to the Whistler Community Foundation we’ll deliver another 500 meals and combine that with the donations received during the first 1,000 meals, so we now have enough funding for another 1,000 meals!
Even though we’ve secured funding for upcoming meals, many volunteer hours still go into behind-the-scenes operations—sourcing food, coordinating logistics, meeting with suppliers, handling administration, applying for grants, and promoting our meals. Thank you to everyone who contributes their time; as a volunteer-led organization, this work takes significant effort. We are beginning to fundraise so these roles can be supported in a paid capacity, as the current model is not sustainable. Please continue to donate where you can, so we can keep up the great work.
Interact – What an Inspiring Group
Interact’s lively annual fundraising dinner held April 15th at the Youth Centre in Maury Young Place in support of ROCKS was both a success and a delight. The young Rotarians’ energy and enthusiasm was contagious and their organizational powers showed in every detail. We especially enjoyed the evening’s auctioneer, whose charisma and quick wit kept the crowds engaged and the bids climbing for luscious desserts from homemade Oreos and cream puffs to mini cheesecakes. By our estimate, our Board member Marco bought roughly half of them , inciting laughter that filled the room along with a shared sense of purpose. It was loads of fun and a heartwarming demonstration of how much dedicated youth contribute to community life. Big thanks to all who attended, and huge thanks to you, Interact, for making ROCKS your cause.
Community Engagement
This spring, ROCKS is doubling down on community engagement by building stronger connections with local businesses and hotels across Whistler. We’ll be reaching out to collaborate on ways to introduce our dinners to new staff, whether that’s through team orientations, shared communications, or on-site presence, to let more people know there’s a welcoming place for them here.
Arriving in a new town can feel isolating, especially during slower seasons when work hours may be reduced and routines aren’t yet established. With this in mind we’re exploring ways to host additional dinners during these quieter periods, making sure everyone in our community has access to a warm meal, meaningful connection, and a sense of belonging when it’s needed most.
Superstars, Shout outs and Stats
- March 9th dinner – Thank you Chef Daniel of Daniel’s Kitchen, for providing the raved-about Salmon and Spinach filos and salads. These were very well received and we can’t wait to use them again. Reach out to Daniel at: info@danielskitchen.ca if you want to use his services. Thanks too to Sheila, our ROCKStar videographer who captured us in ROCKStar action. Watch for the footage in our 2 minute promo video coming soon. And a third call out to Ella from reuse whistler for introducing the attractive reusable steel cups and the clever program behind them. We’ll be using these cups going forward to help reach our goal of zero waste. We served 98 meals at a cost of $738, including operational overheads. This was offset by $712 in donations on the night of the event, bringing the event’s total cost down to just $26!
- March 30th dinner – With Natalie our fearless leader off on a well-deserved holiday in her homeland of New Zealand, we were all a little nervous about this dinner but all went smoothly, with Chef Kim turning out her best-ever veggie lasagna. We served 84 meals at a cost of $740 including operational overheads, which was offset by donations of $737 on the night of the event, bringing our effective cost down to an all-time low of $3! Huge kudos to The Independent for supplying the food.
- April 13th dinner – This one was a great evening all around, first announcing the 1,000 meal, then sharing our $5,000 grant and finally the amazing food. Huge thanks Chef Roz for handling many curveballs, engaging Creekside Market to donate the chicken, and for preparing an excellent butter chicken for our guests. The fudgy desserts were donated by Rocky Mountain Chocolate and the in total, we served 86 meals at a cost of $661 including the operational overheads, which was offset in $452 in donations, bringing our effective cost down to $159.
- Save the Date – April 27th – Come join us for a Jewish inspired meal with chicken, salads, and dessert. This meal is being arranged by the Jewish community and they hope to share some fun trivia throughout the night. Reservations are very helpful, walk-ins are accepted.
- Volunteer of the Moment is ….(drumroll)…. Linnea! A self-described nomad, Linnea likes to move around and experience what different places have to offer, but since rolling into town mid-2025 she’s thrown herself wholeheartedly into Whistler’s community life. A welcome presence in Whistler’s literary community, she’s also ROCKS’ most devoted volunteer, having worked at every one of our dinners except for Christmas Eve. You’ll find Linnea in the kitchen where she quickly figures out what needs doing, comes up with the best possible way of doing it, and stays on task to the end, always with a tranquil smile. And she has our undying gratitude for single-handedly cubing several massive blocks of mozzarella into faux curds for poutine! Thank you Linnea, we’re so glad to have you!
Still Searching For A Home
ROCKS is still looking for a permanent home within Whistler, so if you have any possible leads on potential premises, please reach out to us at whistler.recreate@gmail.com. Through the summer, we’re going to try a few alternate venues as we take ‘ROCKS on the Road’, but our ‘forever home’ is still being elusive
Instafamous?
ROCKS now has over 500 followers on Instagram. Help us become Instafamous by sharing our Instagram whistler_rocks with friends—and share our website at whistler-rocks.ca.
Whew, this is an especially long newsletter, deserving of especially hearty thanks for reading all the way to the end! Thanks again for your interest and support,
The Whistler ROCKS Team