From a half-section of vacant farm land in Moosomin has come a resounding donation for the fourth year in a row. Farmers, local companies and a gaggle of volunteers just pulled off the wheat harvest, netting 9,000 bushels that sold for $65,000. All the profits will be sent to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and will then be quadrupled by the Canadian government in a four-to-one matching program.
Dozens of farmers and volunteers helped bring in the harvest, and a local vendor donated lunch for the crew.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 Canadian churches and church-based agencies working together to end global hunger. They support international programs to meet immediate food needs and promote food security; they’re involved in policy development related to ending global hunger; and they work to engage Canadians in the global movement to end hunger. There are 212 growing projects in Canada like this one.
The Moosomin Harvest of Hope rents 280 acres of land from an absentee landowner, cultivates it, and donates all the profits. Not all the supplies and work are donated; between rent, seed, fertilizer and some equipment expenses, costs are expected to be around $15,000. They grew canola last year which is a high profit crop. The land can’t produce canola every year, so the group rotates in wheat every second year.
To date, they’ve raised a quarter of a million dollars. With matching, it’s more like $1,000,000,000.
Interested in sponsoring an acre of this remarkable project? For every $1 they save in expenses, $4 of profit is generated with matching. Rent per acre is roughly $200/year (though they’ll gratefully accept any size of donation). If you’re interested in supporting the harvest for next year, cheques can be made out to Harvest of Hope and mailed to The Harvest of Hope c/o Moosomin Baptist Church, Box 57 Moosomin, SK, S0G 3N0.
This article was published in Volume 13, Issue 9 of Making Connections. Subscribe to the Making Connections monthly newsletter here