Canadian farmers, many of them Christian Reformed, reached a significant milestone this summer when they shipped their millionth ton of food through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
According to a press release from the Foodgrains Bank, they have supplied one million tons of food to people coping with hunger all over the world. That’s enough food to fill 15,873 box cars with bags of grain—a train that would stretch approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles).
“A million tons of food is enough to provide a full ration of cereals, pulses (legumes), and oil to over 66 million people for
one month,” said Jim Cornelius, executive director of the Foodgrains Bank. That’s twice the population of Canada, or 1 percent of the world’s population.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a consortium of 15 churches and church-based relief agencies, including the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. The bank was founded in 1983 to support food, agriculture, and nutrition programming in 74 countries.
Each summer farmers from Christian Reformed churches and many others donate land, seed, machinery, and time to raise crops for the Foodgrains Bank.
“We could not have done this without the support of generous Canadians,” added Cornelius. “A lot of people give of their resources—money, grain, time, commodities, etc.—toward the cause of ending hunger. We’re very grateful for the strong support we receive, and we know that each of our beneficiaries shares that gratitude.”
The Canadian International Development Agency, a branch of the Canadian government, matches each donation to the Foodgrains Bank 4-to-1, quadrupling the effect of each donation.
About the Author
Gayla Postma retired as news editor for The Banner in 2020.
