There was room at the table at the Gallagher Centre, as the Canadian Foodgrains Bank celebrated the contributions of six area farm families to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and hopefully expand the amount of support in the area.
The Room at the Table event was a way to celebrate the contributions of area farmers while searching for more to contribute.
Jim Cornelius, Executive Director of the Foodgrains Bank, said that there is a lot of support in Yorkton, and farmers are what keep the Foodgrains Bank going. The charity, a Christian organization focused on feeding people around the world, is built on farmers who want to share the fruits of their labor with those who need it.
“The way we do it has evolved over time as you can imagine. Farming has changed, the world has changed, but underneath it is the same principal.”
The Yorkton area farmers celebrated at the event all dedicate a portion of their land to the Foodgrains Bank, where what they grow on that specific land is set aside as a donation. The actual food isn’t shipped overseas - over the years making a large shipment of grain has been discovered to do damage to the local economy and occasionally even encourage crime - but the money raised is used to support people within their communities who need help, whether due to short-term need like a natural disaster, drought or war or longer term problems in the region.
“We are supplying support in times of emergency as well as working with communities and households in strengthening their farm production methods and income generating opportunities so they can feed themselves,” Cornelius said.
There are also people supporting the bank outside of farms, Cornelius says, and that there are lots of other ways to participate.
“We even have new programs for virtual farmers, where you can sponsor an acre, actually see your crop growing on the fields, even though you’re living in downtown Yorkton or downtown Saskatoon, you can be a farmer too.”
If you want to contribute to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s work around the world, contact Rick Block at [email protected].
