About 15 women, many from disadvantaged communities, meet at the Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services centre in St Albans each Thursday to exchange recipes and talk about their lives.

St Albans' Mary Lakkis, 60, joined the Around The Table group last year after many years stuck at home with little to do.

"My husband died from cancer in 1987 and I was left with a mortgage and six children to bring up. I had to work two jobs each day to keep us going," she said.

"A few years ago I got injured and had to have two knee reconstructions so I've been stuck in my house for years."

Last year, her neighbour Rosa invited her to one of the cooking classes.

"When I was working I didn't have time to meet other women or make friends in the community, so my life has been pretty boring,. The people at Good Shepherd are fantastic and I have made lots of new friends in the past 12 months, " Mrs Lakkis said.

The centre's community support worker, Sandra Di Giantomasso, said not only was St Albans a disadvantaged area, but many older women had health and finance issues, making it even harder to connect.

"The group was designed to target socially isolated women and it seems there are many out there. A lot of women from migrant communities struggle to fit in and by starting the food classes we can bring them together to enjoy a positive experience."

On June 16 the group will launch its Around The Table cookbook, which includes recipes and stories written by all members.

"Since we started each member has presented their favourite recipes and given a demonstration on how to prepare them.

"Our members are from places like Italy, Egypt, East Timor and Sri Lanka, so the foods in the cookbook are from all different places around the world."

New members are welcome. More details: 83128832.