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When Natalie Kingi left her job in tech, it wasn’t for lack of success. She’d delivered any number of multi-million-dollar projects. But none of it felt like it mattered.

“I’m like, ‘How is this making the world a better place?’” she recalled. “And what bucket am I filling?”

Now, she runs the Whistler Recreat Our Community Kitchen Society (ROCKS), a grassroots community kitchen that has served close to 500 free hot meals to local residents. The dinners, launched in September 2025, aim to create a place where everyone—liftie, long-timer, or senior—can sit down at the same table.

The group currently operates out of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC), thanks to a discounted rental rate of $250 per event. The venue is popular with guests—“a beautiful kitchen and dining area,” as Kingi puts it—but isn’t classified as a full commercial kitchen. As a result, Vancouver Coastal Health limits ROCKS to 14 temporary food service permits per year. That averages out to about a meal every three weeks.

“We can do 14 at Whistler Mountain Ski Club. And if we find another space, we can do another 14 there,” Kingi said. “But either way, it’s not a permanent place.”

Kingi and ROCKS director Celeste Banning said the Society is considering a wide array of options—from the former Le Gros building (for sale at $2.5 million) to renting out the soon-to-be-vacated Spruce Grove Field House. ROCKS is also looking at a possible mobile venue, and talking with developers about including a community kitchen space for local non-profits.

But so far, none match the cost-effective approach or sit-down, friendly atmosphere ROCKS is going for.

Meeting the need in B.C.’s costliest town

ROCKS’ service is filling a growing gap in the community.

“There are quite a few people in that [financially struggling] category,” Banning told council on Jan. 20. “Probably most of you are familiar with this year’s living wage report that ranks Whistler as the most expensive community in B.C.—I’m sure we all feel that.”

The 2025 living wage for Whistler was calculated at $29.60 per hour—nearly double the provincial minimum wage. That’s before accounting for the region’s housing crunch. Locals face some of the steepest rents in Canada, and many seasonal and long-term workers are stuck in overcrowded units, makeshift accommodations or even living in vehicles.

“It impacts [lower wage earners’] ability to put together a good meal,” Banning noted. “We’ve got lots of people living in vehicles or makeshift housing, or in overcrowded situations where they often have limited kitchen access and sometimes no kitchen access at all.”

Banning said most guests at ROCKS dinners are working Whistlerites. “These are [the] people that keep this community running,” Banning said. “And they’re who we aim to support.”

Big impact on a small budget

Since September, ROCKS has delivered 439 meals to guests across six events. A typical dinner draws 20 volunteers and 80 guests. Each guest receives a home-cooked meal, a sweet treat, tea, and—if there’s food left—seconds or a container to go.

Financially, the model has proven efficient. ROCKS’ first major grant—$15,000 from 100 Women of Whistler—was awarded in exchange for a 1,000-meal commitment. That worked out to $15 per meal. But thanks to donated space, a volunteer base of about 150 locals, and careful procurement, Kingi says they’ve cut the cost per meal by more than half.

“Technically we’re averaging $14 a head,” she explained. “And then with the donations we receive on the night, we’re getting it down to $7 a meal. And that’s all-inclusive. That’s the rent of the venue, the food costs, the equipment, the volunteers, insurance—everything.”

Guests who can afford to contribute are encouraged to donate $10. Those who can’t are equally welcome. “We’re doing free for those who need it and a suggested donation for those who can,” Kingi said. “But those who can afford it [are] basically paying it forward.”

As grant season approaches, ROCKS is preparing new applications backed by real data. “We’ve got a business plan. We’ve got all that stuff,” Kingi said. “This time, we’ve actually got operating data, and we’ve proved that we can do it for $10 a meal.”

In the meantime, she continues to feed people—and feel fulfilled. “With ROCKS, my bucket gets filled—over-filled—every single day,” she said.