By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The Centre d’action bénévole (CAB) de Cowansville will be up and cooking in 2025 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign that has raised around $650,000.
Expansion project manager Nathalia Guerrero Vélez cut the ribbon on Nov. 21 to formally open the centre’s new MAPAQ-standard kitchen and cold storage room. Local elected officials including Cowansville Mayor Sylvie Beauregard and Frelighsburg Mayor Lucie Dagenais, representatives of the Fédération des centres d’action bénévole du Québec and sponsors attended the ceremony.
The centre currently operates a food bank, transport services for seniors who need help getting to medical appointments and errands, a phone outreach program for people unable to leave their homes, programs for caregivers and new immigrants, and income tax services. It provides services in both official languages to residents of Cowansville and surrounding municipalities including Frelighsburg, Dunham and East Farnham. Until recently, the CAB ran its food bank out of rented premises in a shopping centre basement; it did not have an onsite kitchen, refrigerator, cold room or food storage space. The kitchen can also be repurposed as a multipurpose room. Guerrero Velez said bringing the food bank onsite and adding a kitchen would allow the CAB to cut down on food waste, start offering prepared meals to organizations serving people in need, potentially bring back its communal meal programs and attract more volunteers eager to get cooking.
The expansion has been several years in the making; the CAB first bought land adjacent to its current premises in spring 2020, with plans to fund and build an annex. Although “a few details still need to be worked out,” Guerrero Velez said that dream was now a reality. “We would like to thank all of the donors who supported the project, and Athena Construction, for helping us make a difference.”
“The food bank has been working out of the new space for two weeks already,” she said. “It’s been working really well. We’re happy to offer this big, bright new space to volunteers and users. Now that we have our own space, everything is simpler.”
The CAB is still seeking donations to cover $100,000 in outstanding costs related to the expansion. Although Guerrero Velez said they “have a super solid team” of around 200 committed volunteers, extra pairs of hands are also welcome. “We have a nice space, but we don’t necessarily have more people … we’ll do the best we can with what we have.”
Guerrero Velez said she was expecting a busy winter at the food bank. “This time of year, demand for food goes way up, and we’re already starting a waiting list for the food bank,” she said. “We have been [providing food aid] for 50 years, and last year was the first year we had a waiting list. The cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on people who can’t get by anymore, including working people… it’s very worrisome.”
To volunteer or make a donation, call the CAB at (450) 263-3758, visit their website at cabcowansville.net or drop by their premises at 201, rue Principale.