Marking 40 years of working to end global hunger

Life begins at 40!
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.
Bangladesh famine
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.
MCC Food Bank is created
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.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is born
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).