Canadian Foodgrains Bank hosts spring meeting in Blyth, looks ahead
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Last Wednesday, local farmers who grow crops for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) gathered at the Blyth Christian Reformed Church for a spring meeting with some of the organization’s provincial and federal representatives. For 40 years, rural farmers from across the nation have been donating their crops and participating in growing projects to raise funds in support of CFGB’s singular purpose: the elimination of world hunger, one humanitarian mission at a time.
Last year alone, CFGB sent over $68 million to independent aid organizations located in 35 countries, which helped almost one million people struggling with food insecurity. While CFGB does utilize many traditional fundraising methods, a large portion of the money they’ve collected over the years has come from farmers and growing projects.
Director of Public Policy Paul Hagerman travelled all the way from Winnipeg to present a forecast of the future of foreign aid, but he also shared some words of gratitude to the Huron County farmers who give freely of their labour, time, and harvest to CFGB every year. “I don’t get very many chances to meet with supporters,” Hagerman admitted. “I’m really happy to have the opportunity to just meet with folks here in Blyth.”
The church was undergoing renovations during the meeting, which produced a great deal of noise, but nobody was particularly perturbed by it. In fact, Henry Reinders, a retired dairy farmer and current Ontario Regional Representative for CFGB, began the meeting by praising the ruckus, as it meant the church was being used.
Reinders was spoiled for choice when he was selecting a passage to set the tone for the meeting, as the Bible is replete with verses that extol the virtues of feeding the hungry and tending to the needs of the poor. In the end, he chose the well-known story of the Feeding of the 5,000, in which Jesus, though deep in mourning, chooses to perform a miracle rather than let the people go hungry. He takes five loaves of bread and two fishes, and with it creates enough food to satisfy 5,000 hungry people. “I thought it was the most appropriate," Reinders remarked. “I chose it because I think it speaks to the time, and to the work that we’re doing.”
He spoke of the importance of taking the time each year to connect with the farmers who form the Foodgrains Bank’s foundation. “We try to have annual spring meetings to keep the people who are supporting us informed of what’s going on… There’s always new things happening in the world of humanitarian aid. We like to have these meetings all across the province. I try to run them at this time of year - it’s a good time of year to catch farmers, because they’re not quite out on the land yet.”
Reinders also let the farmers know how valuable their work really is to CFGB. “Growing projects have been a mainstay of the Foodgrains Bank’s fundraising efforts for many, many years,” he told them. “About 40 per cent of our total funding budget comes from growing projects - they’re raising a crop, selling the crop, and the proceeds come to us and then we use that to buy food overseas to feed the people.”
He ended with a prayer to be a beacon of light in a troubled world, one where countries all around the globe are beginning to look inward, rather than outward.
Hagerman’s presentation concerned itself largely with dark portents of things to come, not just for CFGB, but all foreign aid programs. His biggest concern is a series of massive budget cuts to federal funding for foreign aid. “The U.S. recently cut their international aid by over 90 per cent,” he explained. “Several big donors in Europe, notably Germany, the UK, and France have also announced significant cuts to their aid budgets.”
Hagerman understands why governments are tempted to cut off any cash flow to foreign nations at times when their own countries are facing economic uncertainty and social upheaval; when faced with the possibility of scarcity, people often begin to hoard resources to ensure their own safety.
He understands the impulse, but that doesn’t mean he agrees with it - quite the opposite, in fact. And as Director of Public Policy, it's his job to try to change the way politicians think about foreign aid. “We’re reminding them that aid does help Canada. Peace, prosperity and stability in the world is good for Canada,” he told the room. “In the long term, it creates trade opportunities. In the short term, it means there’s less likelihood of problems from elsewhere spilling over into Canada. So that idea of long-term self-interest for the country is something that we like to put in front of politicians as well… and just recognizing that we all need to eat, as well. Once people get hungry, they get desperate and they can do things to upset the system.”
He also thinks our country should be thinking about what it can afford to give, rather than worrying about what it might lose. “Canada is well-off,” he pointed out. “Yes, we have economic struggles currently, but generally, we are well-off. And there are many people in the world who are suffering, who do not have enough food on a daily basis. We have the ability to help them, and we do. I think that’s the motivator for most of our supporters.”
Hagerman also feels that the impending federal election could be detrimental to humanitarian efforts, depending on its outcome. “This is a real concern for us at Foodgrains Bank. We do get funding from the government, but even if our own funding is not cut, we’re just concerned about the overall levels of aid. We’d like to see Canada play a strong role in the world, and we’re concerned that there could be significant cuts here.” He urges any member of the public with concerns about the future of foreign aid in Canada to contact their federal candidates and make their opinions known this election, before it’s too late.
These days, most people who contribute to CFGB do so by growing and selling their own crops, then donating the profits. But it wasn’t so easy back in the 1970s, when the members of Canada’s Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) first decided to establish a food bank. They hoped that the surplus of grain caused by a year of unusually high yields could be sent to ease the famine spreading through disaster-ravaged Bangladesh. By 1977, the food bank was up and running, and it wasn’t long before India sent a missive requesting aid. In response, MCC sent them a boat loaded with 660 tons of grain.
Over the years, more churches joined the MCC’s effort to spread the wealth of Canada’s abundant harvests to the nations who needed it most. Today, CFGB is a partnership between 15 churches and church-based agencies, all unified in the belief that it is God’s will to let none of his children go hungry.