Mississauga's Cousin's Market receives acknowledgement for community involvement and support
Written by Melinda Prain, Communications and Fundraising Manager at The Compass Foodbank and Outreach Centre.
Photo credit to Mississauga’s Stephen Urhaney
From Left to right, Ken Martin (Compass Board Member), Bruno Coellar (Cousin's Head Chef), Gus Battaglia (Owner), Mike Giguere (Compass Board Chair), Stephen Dasko (Councillor Ward 1)
Providing support to neighbours and small businesses in our community is critical in helping one another get through these difficult times. Shopping locally is a key component to doing our part. That being said, The Compass Food Bank and Outreach Centre would like to highlight Cousin's Market, who we feel are one of our local heroes.
When the Corona Virus first appeared in our community, it presented a very real logistic issue for The Compass. We had to quickly shift into safety mode in an effort to best serve our clients.This meant all onsite programming had to cease immediately and we had to shift to purely a food distribution model. Our client base increased in never-before seen numbers almost overnight in the face of unemployment and food insecurity.
One such program at risk was a twice-weekly, in-house hot lunch initiative that The Compass operated since 2005. The program needed to pivot quickly to a take-out service model that we named "Hope-To-Go." As the need increased and our lines swelled with more and more vulnerable hungry neighbours, we needed help to power forward. Our numbers more than doubled in a very short time.
Cathy Hetherman, leader of the “Hope-To-Go” program, approached Gus Battaglia, one of the partners at Cousin’s Market, about the potential of linking arms with us to help bring nutritious meals to people in our community who truly needed help. It was without hesitation that Gus said “yes.”
During 2021 and 2022, Cousin’s Market made a commitment to supply all of the groceries needed to prepare over 20,000 meals to our “Hope To Go” clients. They committed and they delivered. Our clients stayed fed and safe because of Cousin's Market's generous gift.
Please join us in celebrating Cousin’s Market and all the fine leaders and support staff for their commitment to their Port Credit and Lakeview neighbours. Gus and team, your dedication not only provided healthy and nutritious food, but also Hope - the hope that comes from a community banding together in crisis. It’s important as a neighbourhood that we acknowledge and support our local hero businesses who step up to the plate when people are in need.
Thank you and bravo Cousin’s Market!