Grow Hope Saskatchewan (GHS) has begun its sixth growing season, as of Monday (May 1), as farmers and donors provide emergency food assistance around the world.
The organization brings Saskatchewan urban and rural communities together to support people with emergency food rations and long-term food security.
As part of the start of the season, GHS is featuring a northeast couple, Brian and Michelle Hergott, who own and operate a grain farm west of Bruno.
They are a third-generation family farm and stated that they feel this operation is an answer to a prayer they’ve had for years, as they’ve expressed a desire to help others, with their biggest opportunity and gift being ‘giving by farming.’
“Farmers have been gifted great abundance, and this provides us an opportunity to share their passion,” said Michelle. “We are farmers get to help those in need while doing what we love.”
GHS exists because of generous farmers who agree to grow and donate land for crops. They can also be sponsored with donations to help cover the costs of farming.
It costs $350 per acre to provide seed, fertilizer, fuel, and other things needed to grow a crop.
After harvest, farmers sell the crop and donate the proceeds to Canadian Foodgrains Bank, which can be as much as $600 per acre or more.
Crop proceeds used to provide emergency food assistance for people living through a crisis may also be matched four-to-one through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s Partnership with Global Affairs Canada.
Rick Block, a regional representative with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, explained the initiative invites urban and rural dwellers to learn about farming and the collective responsibility to be good stewards of our resources.
“Grow Hope Saskatchewan is a tangible way for productive land in Saskatchewan to have a direct and positive impact for many around the world who do not have access to food or the ‘bounty that comes from the land’,” he said.
Throughout the year GHS offers multiple opportunities for community engagement including a field day, recipes connected to the grains grown, and artwork inspired by the landscapes of Grow Hope fields.
GHS started as a collaboration between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, MCC Saskatchewan, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon in the winter of 2017 to find creative ways to unite urban and rural communities in the effort to end global hunger.
Since its inception in 2017, GHS has raised $748,000 for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, with the first crop planted in 2018. Leveraging matching grants from Global Affairs Canada received at the highest rate, the total contribution would be about $3.74 million.
Meanwhile, in 2022, GHS had a record-breaking year, raising $299,000. As for 2023, there are currently 421 available donated acres to sponsor.
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