The charity received 400 acres from Viterra
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A Canadian agricultural charity will have more acres to use towards ending world hunger.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank received a 400-acre donation from Viterra.
Viterra also committed to donating $5 to the charity for every tonne of grain donated through any of its grain elevators in Western Canada.
The grain handler also donated 42 acres to the charity last year as part of a pilot project. The land was located near elevators in Balgonie, Sask. and Stettler, Alta.
The Foodgrains Bank uses the proceeds from the crop sales to fund different projects around the world.
Viterra's elevator in Balgonie,Sask.
Photo: Steve Boyko
This donation will allow the charity to do even more in the fight against global hunger while strengthening the organization’s relationship with the ag community, said Jim Cornelius, executive director of the Foodgrains Bank.
“This is great news,” he told Farms.com today. “We’d been in conversation with Viterra about doing something like this. It started off with 42 acres to test out if we could get things working. It’s very exciting that we’re at 400 acres now and we anticipate more acres in the future.”
Producers also play a pivotal role in the charity’s operations.
Farmers donate time and equipment to help benefit the greater good during their busiest seasons, and that can’t be understated, Cornelius said.
“Farmers are very busy right now with seeding, but somehow they make time to grow a crop for us,” he said. “The same thing happens during harvest time. Growers are working to get their crop off and they help us harvest a crop and it’s very special to us.”
Involving themselves with the Foodgrains Bank creates “awareness about global hunger and trying to alleviate it in countries of need around the world,” Kyle Jeworski, president and CEO of Viterra North America, said in a statement yesterday.
For information on how to donate to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, visit the organization's website.