BURLINGTON, ON – Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) Board of Directors continue to work with the Honourable Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to support Ontario’s chicken industry through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past couple of weeks, CFO Board Directors have participated in a number of virtual town hall meetings with Minister Hardeman, hosted by local MPPs across the province. These virtual town halls are an important opportunity for CFO to communicate with government, agriculture stakeholders, and the broader community.
“We thank Minister Hardeman and MPPs for hosting these important discussions,” said Ed Benjamins, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “We also thank Premier Ford and the Ontario Government for their heroic efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and for their commitment to keeping the province’s food supply chain strong.”
CFO has repeatedly expressed our commitment to working with Ontario’s chicken industry stakeholders to ensure a steady supply of fresh, healthy, locally-grown chicken for Ontario consumers.
“It’s clear, these are unprecedented, uncertain and difficult times,” said Rob Dougans, President & CEO of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “One constant is that CFO’s 1,300 farmer-members and our food processing industry are continuing to work hard to implement and support business continuity across Ontario’s food supply chain.”
In addition to virtual town hall meetings, CFO is speaking regularly with Minister Hardeman, and sharing information with the Minister, OMAFRA, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC), FarmGate 5, Association of Ontario Chicken Processors (AOCP), Poultry Service Association (PSA) and other agriculture stakeholders.
The Ontario Government and local communities are also recognizing and expressing their appreciation for CFO’s ongoing support of Ontario food banks. In addition to ongoing donations of fresh chicken to local food banks through the CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks program, CFO has also donated $25,000 to Feed Ontario, to help aid in their Emergency Response program.
"Chicken farmers are stepping up and giving what we can to help our neighbours through the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting local food banks is one way we can give back," said Murray Opsteen 1st Vice-Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario and Chair of the CFO Cares Working Group. "During our meetings with Minister Hardeman and MPPs, we heard that these donations are making a positive difference for vulnerable Ontarians, in communities across the province."
Source : CFO