The 2014 Hands, Harvest, and Hope harvest day near Morden, MB.

Volunteers Make Work of Canadian Foodgrains Bank Possible

Over 5,000 people volunteer for the Foodgrains Bank across Canada each year.

By Amanda Thorsteinsson and ChristianWeek | April 14, 2015

On National Volunteer Week, It’s easy to see why many people consider volunteers to be the heart and soul of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

“It’s unbelievable what some farmers contribute to growing projects,” says Doug Maas, who is part of the Central Alberta growing project near LaCombe, Alberta.

Maas isn’t a farmer himself—he’s a banker. He contributes many hours to the project himself though, and also notes the commitment of the farmers who are involved. Sometimes, he says, farmers choose putting the Foodgrains Bank crop first over their own—even with the risk of inclement weather, and with their livelihoods depending on bringing in the crop on time.

Maas recalls that one year, “it was getting late, and several farmers hadn’t even harvested their own crops,” he says. “They still came to the harvest, and after the grain was hauled, returned to their own crop.”
Seeing that response was really special Maas says, "I felt very thankful."

“It’s because of people who believe in the cause of ending global hunger, and are willing to give of their time, talent, and energy that the work of the Foodgrains Bank is possible,” says John Longhurst, Director of Resource and Public Engagement at the Foodgrains Bank.

Volunteers gather for a word of prayer before the harvest begins for the COOL (Communities Offering Others Life) harvest, near Springstein, Manitoba.

A recent survey found that as over 5,000 people volunteer at over 250 community growing projects for the Foodgrains Bank across Canada each year. Some of the projects have just a few volunteers, but others number in the hundreds. Through the growing projects, volunteers plant and harvest a crop, donating the funds from the sale of the crop to Canadian Foodgrains Bank. In 2014, the projects raised $6 million for the work of the Foodgrains Bank.

Jim Wilson is a farmer from Manitoba who has been involved with the Hands, Harvest & Hope community growing project near Morden for a number of years. For him, volunteering with the project it’s a natural way to give back.

“The growing project is an extension of what we do already as farmers,” he says. “Part of the greater work of feeding the world is also feeding people who have so little.”

“We recognize how lucky we are to live in such an abundant country," Wilson says.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger. In the 2013-14 budget year, the Foodgrains Bank provided $42 million of assistance for 1.2 million people in 42 countries. Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects are undertaken with matching support from the Government of Canada. Assistance from the Foodgrains Bank is provided through its member agencies, which get matching funds through their accounts in the Foodgrains Bank for programs implemented by local partners in the developing world.