Paramount Fine Foods and Mayor Crombie fundraise for food bank

These are difficult times for the food industry, and one restaurant is doing more than donating its excess food.

At a press conference today at City Hall, Paramount Fine Foods CEO Mohamad Fakih and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie announced the #MississaugaChallenge to raise funds for The Mississauga Food Bank during the COVID-19 crisis.

Mr. Fakih has tweeted about the campaign, pledging $1 for every retweet (up to a total of $10,000), and asked those who are able to make a donation to feed their hungry neighbours. The Mississauga Food Bank requires $840,000 to provide food to the growing number of families who require emergency support during this crisis, $360,000 more than anticipated.

“So much about our daily lives has changed. For some of us, it’s an inconvenience. But for others, it’s a crisis. There are more who rely on the food banks, but the food banks rely on us, the people of Mississauga. If we have the means, we have to dig deep and give,” stated Mohamad Fakih, CEO, Paramount Fine Foods in a press release.

“We know that many people are struggling to make ends meet and are relying on food banks now more than ever. Emergency situations like these put additional stress on already tight budgets. Our food bank needs the love and support of our community in these unprecedented times. Mohamad is known for his kindness and generosity and I thank him for leading this call to action. I’m asking our residents to help by retweeting or donating. Let’s work to make our city a better place and ensure that no one gets left behind,” added Mayor Bonnie Crombie.

Meghan Nicholls, the executive director of The Mississauga Food Bank stated that the food bank has already seen an increase of 10 per cent in families coming to their neighbourhood food banks during this crisis. “We’ve already seen an increase of Combined with decreasing food donations, it’s a challenging time for the food bank. I’m humbled by this outpouring of generosity, and thankful for leaders like Mohamad and Mayor Crombie who are working to ensure the residents of their home city are taken care of,”

This campaign follows the success of similar initiatives in Calgary and Ottawa, where business leaders joined forces with mayors to raise funds for food banks. Arlene Dickinson (Dragon’s Den, District Ventures Capital) helped raise over $210,000 for Calgary Food Bank and Harley Finkelstein (Shopify) launched a campaign that raised over $170,000 for Ottawa Food Bank.

Donations can be made at themississaugafoodbank.org/covid19-matchcampaign, by phone at 905-270-5589, or by mail at 3121 Universal Drive, Mississauga, L4X 2E2.

The Mississauga Food Bank is the central food bank in Mississauga. Through its network of 45 agencies – including neighbourhood food banks, hot meal programs, and breakfast clubs – they distribute food for over 2.9 million meals each year.