2023 marks 40 years of Canadian Foodgrains Bank member churches and church agencies working together to end hunger.
Take a trip through our history to discover some of the highlights from our 40-year history.
During a time of famine in Bangladesh, farmers in western Canada are enjoying bumper crops. They want to share their excess food with people who are hungry, but government policies at the time don’t permit it. They call on Mennonite Central Committee Canada to find a way; it proposes the creation of a food bank that can receive grain from Canadian farmers.
The MCC Food Bank is created. It is based on the “Joseph principle” from the Old Testament—storing up grain in good years for use in bad times. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), now Global Affairs Canada, agrees to provide matching funds, a partnership that continues to this day.
Prairie farmers respond by providing 1,442 tonnes of grain.
660 tonnes of grain was sent by the MCC Food Bank to India.
The board helped facilitate the handling and shipping of grain.
Through Corn for the Horn, farmers respond to the Ethiopia hunger crisis.
With encouragement from the Government of Canada, MCC invites other churches and church agencies to join and Canadian Foodgrains Bank is born. The first members are MCC Canada, Canadian Baptist International Ministries, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, The Christian and Missionary Alliance, and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (now World Renew).
Foodgrains Bank members respond to famine in Ethiopia.
Emergency Relief & Development Overseas (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) joins the Foodgrains Bank.
The United Church of Canada joins the Foodgrains Bank as well.
Canadian supporters travel to Foodgrains Bank projects overseas to visit and learn from locally-based partners.
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries joins the Foodgrains Bank.
The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada joins the Foodgrains Bank as well.
Farmers in Carrot River, Sask. and Paisley, Ont. come together to plant, grow and harvest a crop for the Foodgrains Bank. Today there are over 218 growing projects from P.E.I. to B.C.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins.
World Relief Canada (now Tearfund Canada) joins representing six denominations.