From FCC Express, by Owen Roberts
Across the country, farmers are partnering with Canadian food banks to make sure as few people as possible go hungry this harvest season.
Last week in Toronto, the Turkey Farmers of Canada presented a cheque for $56,500 to Food Banks Canada, marking the two organizations’ fifth year of partnership.
The donation will be allocated to rural food banks across Canada. They will use to buy whole turkeys or turkey products to distribute to their clients at Thanksgiving.
Program chair Mark Davies calls the partnership “greatly rewarding to Canada’s turkey farmers… particularly when we hear that it makes such an impact in the lives of Canadians at Thanksgiving. We hope Canadians will take it upon themselves to donate a few dollars, or even a turkey, to their own local food bank, and help a neighbour to enjoy the Thanksgiving tradition as well.”
Besides this program, throughout the calendar year, several provincial boards and turkey processors contribute funds, as well as turkey products, to their local food banks and other organizations that assist Canadians.
Farm Credit Canada has announced that through its Drive Away Hunger campaign — which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year — more than 3.3 million pounds of food have now been collected, en route to its five-million-pound goal.
FCC hopes to reach its goal by Oct.16, World Food Day. At that time, tractor tours will be held to deliver food in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and at FCC’s corporate office in Regina.
As part of the FCC campaign, the Give What You Grow option enables producers to pledge a portion of their product — such as an acre of crop or amount of vegetables, an animal or the cash proceeds from the sale of those products — to the campaign.
For every one million pounds of food raised through the campaign, FCC will donate $100,000, up to a total of $400,000. To date, FCC has matched $300,000.
“Even though we’re so close to our target, in the final few weeks we need agriculture’s support more than ever to fill the shelves and help those who need it most,” says Greg Stewart, FCC president and CEO. “Canadian producers and agribusiness operators grow some of the world’s highest quality and safest food.
Almost 900,000 Canadians use food banks every month.
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