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Orangeville Public Library celebrates Family Literacy Day with food literacy workshop

January 22, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes

Enjoy some fun direction in food making on Jan. 25 as the Orangeville Public Library recognizes Family Literacy Day 2026.

In celebration of Family Literacy Day, the Orangeville Public Library is hosting a unique educational workshop on food-making. The program will take participants through a fun afternoon as they learn how to make Jamaican-style soup-in-a-jar.

Lauren Tilly, head of programming for the library, said that the experience will bring together families to teach them something new and broaden their view of literacy, showing how it goes beyond books.

“Family Literacy Day is something that we’ve celebrated here at the Orangeville Public Library for a really long time, probably about 15 years,” she said. “The soup-in-a-jar workshop is for families with children to come together and put together a recipe for a dry soup mix. They’re going to follow a recipe, they’re going to write down the recipe to bring home, and then make it at home, so it’s got multiple layers of literacy built in it.”

The event follows the national theme for Family Literacy Day 2026, “Make mealtime family learning time,” designed to help families learn not as individuals but as a unit. Whether that would include making shopping lists, following recipes, or simply spending time at the table, the focus is on getting families together in 2026.

Tilly said that the Library was excited to see such a unique approach.

“This year is really exciting,” she said. “We’ve never seen something that’s kind of food related, and I think mealtime and bringing in that family aspect is really exciting for us. It’s a great opportunity for the Orangeville Public Library to align with our mandate of supporting multiple literacies, where we’re supporting that foundational reading and writing but we’re also encouraging food literacy and cultural literacy.”

The experience will help develop and practice reading, measuring, and sequencing skills for kids and will provide family recipes for caregivers and parents.

Laura Warner, CEO of Orangeville Library, said that learning and literacy must go beyond the classroom and involve all family members. She also highlighted new learning programs to support this commitment.

“There are so many different types of literacies and learning doesn’t stop at the classroom,” Warner said. “It’s very powerful and important that families continue to learn together. Recently, we launched a new platform called Kermode, it’s meant for families to go through these modules together. It touches on things like online safety, online privacy, cyber bullying, other elements such as AI and deepfakes. This is a large and important resource for families to sit down, review, and then have conversations about it at the dining room table.”

Together, these initiatives are highlighting the Orangeville Public Library’s ongoing commitment to supporting families as lifelong learners.

“Literacy today is so much more than just reading books,” Warner said. “It’s about understanding information, asking questions and navigating the world, and we are focused on building that capacity for literacy.”

By combining practical programs like the soup-in-a-jar workshop with digital literacy tools such as Kermode, the library is inviting residents of all ages to explore new skills, strengthen their connections at home, and see literacy as an essential part of everyday life – both on Family Literacy Day and throughout the year.

For more information on the soup-in-a-jar event, go to forms.orangevillelibrary.ca/2026-Family-Literacy-Day-Soup-in-a-Jar-Session.

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