Canadian Christians Invited to Fast for Change

Canadian Foodgrains Bank-sponsored event a way to “respond to the issue of hunger”

On October 16, James Kornelsen wants you to fast—for change.

“Fasting is a way to change yourself, change your relationship to God, and change the world,” says Kornelsen, who coordinates the annual Canadian Foodgrains Bank Fast for Change event.

“It’s a way for people of faith to respond to the issue of hunger through fasting, praying, advocating and giving.”

Timed to coincide with the United Nations World Food Day, an international day to remember global food needs, the goal of Fast for Change is to “invite Christians to take time to remember the almost one billion people in the world who don’t have enough to eat, and reflect on God’s desire that no one go hungry,” Kornelsen says.

It’s also a way for Canadian Christians to encourage the Federal Government to make the needs of poor people a top priority.

“As individuals, we need to do whatever we can to help people in the developing world,” Kornelsen says. “But there are structural issues that can help or hinder the cause of ending global hunger.”

This year people who participate in Fast for Change are being asked to send a letter to Members of Parliament thanking the Federal Government for committing $400 million in 2010 to help developing countries adapt to, and fight climate change, and to encourage it to maintain that commitment for 2011 and 2012.

“Changing weather patterns are making it harder for people in the developing world to grow food,” Kornelsen says, adding that “partners from other countries often tell us that farmers no longer know when rain will come.”

Funds from Canada were designed to help poor farmers find ways to collect water, develop better irrigation systems, or otherwise find ways to adapt to changes in their climate, he notes.

“Unfortunately, most of Canada’s money went as loans through the World Bank for clean energy development, and failed to reach the most vulnerable,” he says. “Through Fast for Change, we want to encourage Canada to continue this funding, but to make sure it gets to those who need it most.”

More than not eating

While fasting is usually associated with not eating, that’s not the only way people can participate in Fast for Change, Kornelsen notes.

“It can also be taking time away from an activity, like not going to movies, sports events or anything else. The point is to pause and reflect on what it means to have enough,” he says.

But fasting from food—for those who can do it—is a good way to remember the issue of hunger as it applies to those who have little, and those who have much, he adds.

“Being hungry, even if it’s just a little bit, is a way to identify with the needs of poor people,” he says.

He’s quick to note, however, that “we’re not trying to pretend by fasting from a meal or two that we are can really feel the pain of those who are truly hungry. Fasting in whatever way reveals our need for God. As Christians it points us back to Jesus ministry that was directed to those who suffered the indignity of hunger.”

Since World Food Day falls on a Sunday this year, Kornelsen says it’s an excellent time for churches to take time during their worship services to reflect on the needs of hungry people around the world.

“We’ll have resources on our website to help churches pray and reflect on the needs of those who don’t have enough to eat,” he says, adding that families can also participate by eating a simple meal and donating what they saved.

The needs of people suffering due to drought in east Africa underscores the importance of taking time to fast, pray and reflect on the issue of hunger, Kornelsen adds.

When it comes to ending global hunger, “there are lots of things people can do to help those who don’t have enough to eat,” he notes. “But fasting is a good way, and a biblical way, to change our lives, our perspective and our
relationship with a God who cares for everyone on the planet, and wants for all to have enough to eat.”

People who want to participate in Fast for Change can visit http://www.fastforchange.ca/.

HARVEST FOR HUNGER June Update

Some of the committe members on a crop tour June 20, 2011.

Despite one of the most challenging planting seasons in recent memory in Ontario, the Harvest For Hunger (H4H) project is up and growing. As of June 20^th, the soybeans were just beyond the third trifoliate leaf stage, more than 6 inches tall and looking great.   Through the efforts of the committee, several agri- business and local farmers, the field was cultivated and planted between the frequent rains. A garden camera is being installed so that the public can see updated pictures and follow the progress of the crop. By planting a shorter season variety, we are anticipating an early harvest probably before most other soybeans will be ready.

Plans for the harvest day are being put together. The large wheat field immediately west of the Harvest for Hunger site on the south east corner of Highway 23 and the 60^th Line, just north of the village of Monkton,  will be used for parking and viewing the harvest. Bleachers, porta-potties, food and refreshments, entertainment and help have been offered from the local community and beyond. The municipality of North Perth has been very helpful in providing ideas and expertise in organizing the event.

Currently, about 50 combines have “signed up” to be part of this world record attempt. We need more! We are encouraging combine owners and operators to be part of something really BIG. This could be a once in a lifetime event. If we have one chance to set this record, let’s do it right! Everyone is invited to come to the table, bring your combine and show the rest of the world how incredible farmers really are! To sign up your combine, go to www.foodgrainsbank.ca and click on the “Get involved” and then Harvest for Hunger, and then click on the “Register Your Combine” icon or contact the “combine guy” Peter Rastorfer  rastorferfarms@gmail.com or 519 347 2669.

Plans are progressing for an auction of the crop with many of the grain traders being invited to purchase the crop. Congregations, church schools and Individuals are also being encouraged to “buy” a bushel of the crop for $20. More than $8,000 has already been donated in cash along with $15 - 20,000 in crop inputs. Harvest For Hunger hopes to raise $200,000.

You can make on-line donations http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/harvest_for_hunger.aspx 



April Field Notes Newsletter

FINDING THE RIGHT PRICE – international food prices in a time of uncertainty

Stu Clark, CFGB Senior Advisor

Is good news for farmers necessarily bad news for hungry people?  Three years ago, and again recently, the media was full of stories about skyrocketing food prices and their impact in developing countries.  It is widely known that food price increases were the match that set off the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.  Certainly for those who spend 60-80% of their income on food any sudden increase has serious consequences.

But we have also seen almost three decades when agriculture, in part because of low food prices, has languished both in developing countries and in Canada.  Prices that cover the cost of production are an essential element of commercial agriculture wherever it takes place.  Right now many North American farmers are having difficulty deciding which of three or four highly profitable crops to produce and governments in developing countries are scrambling to strengthen their own agriculture sector.  Some of them are expanding their extension services and agriculture related infrastructure while others are selling/leasing large tracts of land to foreign investors to set up large scale farms.

A recent paper produced by the Foodgrains Bank[1] argues that higher prices are a good thing for both farmers and, in the medium term, even for hungry people but the prices must become more stable and only change slowly over time – they must become less volatile.  Higher prices create more employment in rural areas through both field work and related economic activity – a critical need in many parts of the developing world.  Even in urban areas, wages will adjust to higher food prices if the changes are gradual.

So the question becomes how to reduce food price volatility.  The new paper argues that a combination of policies are needed:

1.       For Corn – as long as food crops are being used to produce biofuels, there needs to be policies to reduce the amount of biofuels being produced if the price of food rises too high too quickly.  Various options such as variable biofuel mandates, call options on grain for biofuels, biofuel production capacity auctions are discussed.

2.       For Wheat – it is well known that wheat prices become volatile when the global stock of wheat becomes less than 70 days supply.  If the global stocks stay above this level the prices may move up and down but not rapidly.  The paper proposes a new type of international wheat stock based on the principle of a fixed quantity rather than upper and lower prices.

3.       For Rice – the international trade in rice is much smaller than other major crops and volatility could be managed with relatively small regional stocks such as currently being developed by the ASEAN region

4.       For Soybeans – the volatility of soybean prices is based on a lack of information on soybean stocks, particularly in large importing countries given the concentrated character of global soybean trade.  Improved information on global stocks will be particularly important for soybeans but will benefit the international trade in other major crops as well.

Prices are an important part of ensuring a well functioning international food system but increased investment in smallholder agriculture to raise food production and strengthen farm livelihoods is also essential.

[1] see http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/international_food_price_volatility.aspx

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FEED, SEEDS & OTHER TOOLS

Vanessa Brown, Logistics Officer

·         In the fiscal year 2010/11, we approved $38 million of programming;

• A total of 135 programs were initiated in 35 countries, assisting over 2.3 million beneficiaries;

• $22.5 million was committed for food assistance; $13.5 million was committed for food security; and $2 million was committed for nutrition programming;

• 34,500 metric tonnes of food and seed were purchased locally in 22 countries on behalf of 11 members;

• 22,500 metric tonnes of cereals, 3,250 metric tonnes of pulses, 850 metric tonnes of oil, 6,900 metric tonnes of fortified foods, 600 metric tonnes of other food commodities, and 400 metric tonnes of seeds were purchased locally.

CULTIVATING UNDERSTANDING

James Kornelsen, Public Engagement

Plans are underway to have a People to People visitor from Ethiopia come to visit the Ontario region between the middle of August and the middle of September. By hosting a visitor you can travel to Ethiopia without even leaving your community! A Food Study Tour to Haiti is being planned for last two weeks of November and will visit projects supported by ADRA as well as the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and Mennonite Central Committee. Find the application form and more tour details at www.foodgrainsbank.ca under Get Involved “Upcoming Study Tours”.  Fast for Change increased its’ registrations last year by almost 30% and will again be inviting Canadians’ this fall to consider how we can live with others in mind when it comes to food and consumption.

A HARVEST OF CELEBRATIONS

John Longhurst, Director of Resources & PE

Please see below a sampling of news clippings that have come across my desk which demonstrate the variety ideas and vitality of communities that make the work of your CFGB possible. Thank you!

B.C. auction a success. The tenth annual Make a Difference auction in Abbotsford, B.C. raised $115,000 for the Foodgrains Bank. The sale, held March 24, featured the sale of flowers and tea cosies to kayaks, cheeses, fishing trips, a Vancouver Canucks hockey jersey and, of course, beef and dairy animals. Since beginning the sale has raised over $1 million for the Foodgrains Bank.

Money grows on trees. At least, that’s what happens at the First United Church in Owen Sound, Ont. For the past five years members of the church have hosted a ‘Toonie Tree’ campaign to raise funds for the Foodgrains Bank. From May through October, children in the congregation collect loonies and toonies in Foodgrains Bank baseball caps. The coins are then added to the tree, which, when full, can hold up to $2,000. The ‘Toonie Tree’ is a great example of what people can do to alleviate hunger, says church member Pat McDonough, who built the tree out of plywood and plastic tubes. “We often think we can’t do much with what we have, but everybody giving a little every week can add up,” he says.

Singing for Seeds. Over 300 people packed into the Cardigan, PEI Presbyterian Church April 3 for Sing for Seeds. The concert, which raised $2,500 for the Foodgrains Bank, featured East Coast Music Award Nominees and other performers and choirs. “I have been a member of this church all my life, and I don't remember this group being more excited about an event,” says Kent Myers, Foodgrains Bank Volunteer Coordinator and one of the concert organizers. “It felt wonderful to raise the profile of the Foodgrains Bank, draw attention to hunger issues around the world and share what we have been given by God with those who don’t have enough to eat.”

A JOURNEY TO THE GRASSROOTS OF HUMANITY a brief report of Susan Smith's recent trip to Ethiopia was also included in the newsletter. Susan's full report can be seen in an earlier posting on this blog.

 WORLD  RECORD  HARVEST

ATTEMPT UPDATE

As many of you are no doubt aware, a group of Foodgrains Bank supporters are attempting a world record soybean harvest. Donations in time and inputs have been generous and 37 combines have already signed up.

The committee is now working with the grain industry to purchase the soybeans at a premium price of at least $20 per bushel. They are also inviting community groups, churches and individuals to support this project by purchasing virtual bushels through a $20 donation.  These virtual bushels can be purchased on-line at   http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/harvest_for_hunger.aspx  or by mailing a cheque to the CFGB office or Randy Drenth, H4H Chairman, 90010 Fordwich Line, Clifford, ON NOG 1MO

You can follow their progress at

http://harvest4hunger.wordpress.com

KERNELS

Year End Numbers: The 2010-2011 fiscal year was the second largest in CFGB history. Of the approximate $ 9.2 million in grain and cash donations Ontario contributed more than 1/3. We are, as always, grateful for your continued hard work and generousity and humbled by your trust and support of the CFGB.  Words cannot possibly express our appreciation for you compassion for those who are suffering. May you be blessed as you have been a blessing to others.

Annual Trillium Walk

MAY 14, 10 am- 3 pm

Once again Jim & Susan Smith invite people to

enjoy a walk through their woods and enjoy the

trilliums in bloom. They are located at 1107 – 8^th Concession Brant Twp., RR 1, Cargill.

Lunch is available and all proceeds will be donated to the CFGB.

Semi-Annual Jubilee Acres  Jamboree

MAY 29

Join us for an afternoon of fellowship, music &

dancing. The festivities start at 1 pm at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Hwy 9 south of Walkerton.

Admission is only $4. A buffet dinner will be served about 5 pm. Dinner tickets are available for $13 per person.

If you have a coming event you would like us to include in the summer Field Notes Newsletter please contact us in June. Or contact Emily Cain, Communications Officer, e_cain@foodgrainsbank.ca if you would like to have an event posted on the CFGB web site.

Visit www.foodgrainsbank.ca to sign up for Table Talk, the  new bi-monthly e-newsletter.

A JOURNEY TO THE GRASS ROOTS OF HUMANITY

This report has been writen by CFGB Food Study Tour participant Susan Smith of Cargill of her recent experience. She is pictured here with a ladies group she met with while on her trip.

 The last week of January 2011 marked an important milestone in the global perspective of my life. This was when I departed Washington D.C. with ten fellow travellers from all across Canada on a flight to Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. We were on a Canadian Foodgrains Bank  Food Study Tour to Ethiopia, the cradle of humanity, so called because the earliest human remains ever found are there in The Great Rift Valley. Now, the country has a population of eighty-four million and with that comes the enormous problem of how to provide sustainable food security, when the majority of the people are subsistence farmers subject to lack of rainfall, pests and diseases in order to survive.

    There is virtually no infrastructure, which means that the people have to walk miles and miles to the nearest market. There is no problem with obesity in Ethiopia! The roads are full of people walking with burdens on their backs, beside donkeys, goats, sheep, oxen, cows and camels. If you get out of a vehicle in the middle of nowhere you are immediately surrounded by people—it’s as if the bushes have eyes!

  Most of the country is mountainous and the landscape has been denuded of trees over the centuries to provide necessary fuel for cooking. This causes increased soil-moisture loss and erosion. Canadian Foodgrains Bank works with various partners in Ethiopia to help provide sustainable food security in many areas by initiating Food for Work Programs such as irrigation projects, nursery stock, livestock services, soil and water conservation, women’s self-help and income generation groups, emergency relief programs, as well as support for HIV Aids awareness and family planning information.

The Kale Heywet Church is a partner of CFGB working with the Terepezza Development Association in the Sodo area, which is in the south-west of the country. They now grow sorghum, maize, mango, citrus, apple, avocado, vegetables, spices, coffee, sweet potatoes, taro, cassava etc.  The women’s groups have goat programs and poultry projects. On our visit to this project we talked to a model farmer, selected for his ability, who now has forty seven traditional and twenty one modern beehives. His biggest problem is the chemical pesticides used on surrounding crops but he has a net increase in income of 5000 Birr which translates into $300 per annum. He has trained over twenty other bee keepers to date, each having two modern and two traditional hives, one being supplied by CFGB and the other by the government. From there we headed up the mountain, 2000m above sea-level, where the area was barren and soil-erosion severe but because of a CFGB Food for Work program which included stone terraces and tree planting, the land can now be used for crop production.  They did twelve projects a year for three years and would like to do fifty more to correct the problem.

     In the same area  Women’s Self-Help groups were established four years ago, there are fifteen groups each having one supervisor.  One of the women, Aykale Nago told us (through an interpreter) that she has nineteen people in her group and they started saving 25 cents each per week. The idea of saving was new to them and she said that at first people laughed at them and called them  foolish but now they have 5037 Birr or $315 and no-one’s laughing anymore! The money helps members in times of sickness, house damage, etc and they loan with no interest whereas before they had to go to money lenders who charged high interest. Another participant, Alabo Agago, told us “Usually when we see white people we run away and hide but you have come to meet with us and we are very encouraged.” Zasa Falek said, “Your visits are very important to us and we need your support, please don’t forget us.”

   The education and income generation empowerment of women is undoubtedly one of the main keys to solving the poverty and malnutrition problems that we witnessed in Ethiopia. In the current culture they are second class citizens but the church is teaching equality with men and giving them the knowledge and confidence to step out onto the path of long-term, self-sufficient sustainability.

    On our next visit, Ephraim from the Ethiopian Kale Heywet  Church, a partner with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, took us over very rough terrain to a water diversion irrigation scheme which was mostly destroyed by heavy rains in the brief rainy season last July. Part of it is still functioning and they are harvesting three season’s crops as opposed to one, growing maize, vegetables and bananas. Two hundred and sixty five households are beneficiaries with 0.25 hectare of land each. While we were there many farmers came streaming over the fields, with primitive tools in their hands, to greet us. One of the farmers, Aberta Kobota, told us, “When Canadian Foodgrains Bank began work here, it was like a desert, we didn’t think this land could ever be workable. We were in tears when the weir broke because we had all worked so hard. The church didn’t leave us but came and supported us. We are blessed because we have communications together. If the donors support us again we are in hope. I beg you from abroad. On behalf of the entire community I bless them and may God bless them richly.”

     The highlight of my trip was a home-stay in a mud hut with a thatched roof owned by a young farming family, Bergene, Sara and their two small children. They treated the two of us like royalty, giving us their bed and the only two wooden chairs they possessed with backs on. The bathroom was a few sticks surrounding a dug-out in the ground with poles laid across it, you just had to aim and fire! Supper was partially ground maize corn mixed with buttermilk, popcorn cooked over a fire and thick black coffee. During the evening the whole neighbourhood came to greet the farenji (white people), we were quite the novelty act. Before we went to bed they washed our feet, an act I found very touching. I will always have a place in my heart for those warm, wonderful people, so simple yet so profound.

     We graduated to a mud house for our second home-stay and the bedroom walls were decorated with large spiders which our host graciously disposed of with a machete. We were very fortunate with our accommodations as one lady in our group had rats running over her bed and one poor guy was covered with bed bug bites.

     We flew to Lalibela and had a brief touristy respite visiting the Monolithic Stone Churches which were hewn out of solid rock, starting in the twelfth century.  There are eleven amazingly created and beautifully carved churches which took three hundred years to complete and belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

     From there we headed north east to the Afar region, a semi-desert, home to nomadic tribes. We stayed at the Support for Sustainable Development Camp which, in partnership with the Canadian Lutheran World Relief, runs twelve projects benefitting six hundred families. The herds of the nomads were reduced by drought but because of the irrigation projects introduced, they have diversified and can grow sustainable crops such as maize, peppers, onions, tomatoes and fruits. Now the children can attend school and they have a water well and a health clinic. This is predominantly a Muslim area and one man can have up to four wives and thirty children. As only men had been coming out to greet us at this point, the women in our group specifically asked to speak with a group of local women, who ushered us behind one of the village compound buildings. They told us they needed a grinding machine for their grain as at present they walked ten kilometres to use the nearest one and they also needed a water  well in their village. Then, asking us not to tell the men, they expressed very strong views against the practise of female circumcision, only twelve women in the area are not circumcised. After removal of the clitoris they are sewn up so small that it is very difficult to give birth in later life and many bleed to death.

      On our return to Addis Ababa we spent a day on visits to the offices of the UN World Food Program, the Biodiversity Institute (a seed bank), the Ethiopian Government Disaster Management and Food Security Sector, and CIDA at the Canadian Embassy where we met the Canadian Ambassador, Michelle Levesque.

     Ethiopia is a wonderfully beautiful country which boasts thirteen months of sunshine and equally wonderful, friendly people. It was the PERSONAL contact on an equal basis (not we are the ‘haves’ and they are the ‘have nots’) that meant so much to me on this trip. In many places they just kept hugging us and wouldn’t let us go! They have permeated my soul and added another dimension to my life, truly they are our sisters and brothers.

      The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is making a huge difference in so many of their lives by helping them to sustain themselves with the basic necessities of life. I came home with a piece of my heart still in Ethiopia and feeling very proud to be Canadian, from a country that helps people to help themselves. Everyone deserves Food Justice.

       I have shared my experience with you in the hope of promoting  more global understanding.



What we can do to help:

1.       Learn more about  Food Justice  by reading, workshops, internet.

2.       Advocacy—communicating with government policy makers to make Food Insecurity unacceptable.

3.       Financial support.

4.       Pray.

5.       Consumer choices such as buying  Fair Trade commodities.

We can all do something!

Where No One Is Watching

2010 was a year to remember, or perhaps, a year we might want to forget!

The Haitian earthquake on January 12, and the subsequent aftershocks, caused wide spread destruction, death and misery for 3 million Haitians. The death toll is near 200,000. This is indeed, a human tragedy. The world responded with generous promises of support and attempted to provide resources in as timely a fashion as possible under the extreme circumstances. The CFGB membership responded with about $800,000 in food aid and assistance.
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Later, through July, August and into September, floods destroyed much of the Indus River Valley in Pakistan, leaving 20 million people affected and almost 25% of Pakistan’s agricultural production wiped out. Homes, gardens, businesses and livelihoods were washed away. Despite the fact that this was also a major crisis, world response was limited. The CFGB membership has provided more than $6 million in food aid and assistance already, and members are now exploring longer term responses as they, to quote Isaiah 58, “rebuild what is in ruins, building again on the old foundations.” 

These two stories were certainly the major media stories of human suffering and tragedy last year, but they only represented something less than 25% of the CFGB programming.  One could wonder, where did the other 75% of the programming go? How did the CFGB members use the rest of my dollars – where (or maybe what) in the world is the CFGB doing? The truth is that more than ¾ of the CFGB work last year was supporting families and communities in crisis, but in places the major media didn’t notice, or chose not to go. Maybe that is the difference. The media can go to whatever hot spot they choose, tell the story and move on to something new, different or maybe more exciting. As the CFGB, we need to go where the hurting and suffering is, to work  quietly in the background, to give help and hope to those who don’t make the nightly news, who don’t make it to the spotlight of media attention, to those whose cries are not being heard, who have no voice. To be a Christian response to hunger, we must go where the pain is, we must listen to and for the cries of the world, and then respond in love and action, even where no one is watching! For more info on the CFGB programming go to www.foodgrainsbank.ca and click on programs.

Youth Discovery Tour to Guatemala

This is an amazing for people ages 17-24 to learn more about food justice, food security, international agriculture, the impact of mining and fair trade issues in Guatemala, along with a chance to explore the country, meet Guatemalans and make new friends.

Cost of the tour, which is planned for May 9- 23, 2011, is approximately $3,000. Applications and deposit are required by March 25.

For more information contact Dave Colvinson at: d_colvinson@foodgrainsbank.ca or call 800-665-0377. An application form can be found at www.foodgrainsbank.ca/food_study_tours.aspx.

IVEP INTERN ONTARIO VISIT

Again this year, MCC has provided the Foodgrains Bank with one of their International Volunteer Exchange Program delegates. Terence Sibanda, from Zimbabwe, will be in ON from March 16-29. Most of his time will be spent speaking in schools. There are a few opportunities for the general public to hear Terence speak about conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe and climate change adaption.


March 17 Thursday 8 pm, Trinity-St Andrew’s United Church, 291 Plaunt St., Renfrew
Everyone is invited to spend an evening with Terence hosted by the Admaston Growing Project.

March 20, Sunday, 10:30 am Terence will be speaking during the regular worship service at Williamsburg United Church, on Cty Rd 18, east of 31.
2-3:30 PM there will be a presentation in the Williamsburg Church Hall.

March 27, Sunday, 9:20 am  Terence will be speaking during the regular worship service at Bethany United Church, 6092 4th Line East at Side Road 10 in Centre Wellington Township, south West of Elora off County Rd 7.