Sept. 9, 2010, Guelph, Ont. – Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has launched the
seventh annual FCC Drive Away Hunger program to reduce hunger across
Canada.
Sept. 9, 2010, Guelph, Ont. – Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has 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 Oct. 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 Sept. 20 to Oct. 15 to help reduce hunger nationwide.
“Hunger is an issue right here in our own backyard,” says Barry Smith, FCC vice-president of Western Ontario Operations. “Over 374,000 people in Ontario are assisted by a food bank each month, and 38 per cent are children. There has never been a better time for our communities to work together and fight hunger in our province.”
The FCC Drive Away Hunger Ontario tour will start in Guelph on Oct. 13 with two tractors and trailers visiting several surrounding communities to collect food and cash donations for local food banks. On Oct. 14, the tour will be in the Walkerton and Listowel areas. The tour will wrap up in the Lindsay and Barrie areas on Oct. 15.
FCC Drive Away Hunger national partners, BDO and New Life Mills, 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.
With a healthy portfolio of more that $19.7 billion and 17 consecutive years of portfolio growth, FCC is strong and stable – committed to serving the industry through all cycles. FCC provides financing, insurance, software, learning programs and other business services to producers, agribusinesses and agri-food operations. FCC employees are passionate about agriculture and committed to the success of customers and the industry. For more information, visit www.fcc.ca.
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