Today, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) launched the seventh annual FCC Drive Away Hunger program to reduce hunger across Canada. Each year, FCC partners with customers, schools, businesses, community groups and rural residents nationwide to support Canadian food banks.
FCC Drive Away Hunger is a unique food drive concept that involves driving a tractor and trailer through communities to collect food and cash donations for food banks across the country. One hundred per cent of donations go to Canadian food banks. Public can visit www.fccdriveawayhunger.ca to make a cash donation.
“FCC Drive Away Hunger is all about the agriculture community working together with schools, businesses and community groups to share the food we produce, with those who need it most,” says Greg Stewart, FCC President and CEO. “Our goal this year is to raise one million pounds of food for food banks across rural Canada. It’s important to us to support the communities where our customers and employees live and work.”
At today’s launch, FCC also donated $25,000 to Food Banks Canada to support the National Food Sharing System. Food Banks Canada’s National Food Sharing System acquires and shares industry food and consumer product donations among member food banks across the country.
“We all are grateful for Farm Credit Canada’s support of the food bank community across Canada,” says Katharine Schmidt, executive director of Food Banks Canada. “In 2009, the number of people assisted by food banks went up 18 per cent, which is the largest year-over-year increase on record. FCC Drive Away Hunger, and the support this program rallies, is important now more than ever.”
This year, FCC Drive Away Hunger program tours will take place the week of October 11 in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Regina (FCC head office location). FCC is also collecting food and cash donations in every field office across Canada from September 20 to October 15 to help reduce hunger nationwide.
“In Manitoba, nearly 50,000 people are assisted by a food bank each month, and 49 per cent are children – that’s a staggering fact,” says Derwin Arnstead, FCC Vice-President of Saskatchewan and Manitoba Operations. “It’s important now more than ever to raise awareness about rural hunger and help fill empty plates in our province.”
FCC Drive Away Hunger national partners, BDO and Parrish and Heimbecker, Limited, are also collecting food and cash donations in participating offices across the country.
FCC Drive Away Hunger began in 2004 when an employee in Ontario organized a local tractor tour. He collected food donations from his local community as a way to give back and help food banks serve people in need. Since then, FCC Drive Away Hunger has grown dramatically, with over 3.5 million pounds of food collected.
