Local Foodgrains Bank committee members and volunteers got to meet their new Manitoba rep over the past few weeks. Former Foodgrains rep for Manitoba, Gordon Janzen, travelled with the newest addition to the Manitoba team, Dale Friesen, throughout the province visiting the many communities where they hold their annual fundraisers and grow projects.
Friesen has been in the role as the Foodgrains rep for Manitoba and northwestern Ontario for about a month, upon Janzen's recent retirement.
Growing up on a mixed farm just west of Altona and devoting his life to ministry, having been a pastor for 17 years, Friesen says being a farm kid growing up in southern Manitoba and being a pastor for close to 20 years has made for a great fit for him in this new role.
"I have the pastoral background and part of my job is church engagement and so I'd love to do some speaking engagements in both urban and rural settings."
One of the main goals Friesen strives to do is to share the message of the CFB in more urban centres.
"The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a phenomenal organization, and our rural communities have really been doing a great job of supporting us," explains Friesen. "But there is a lot of room for our urban folks to also join in as well. It might not be a field growing project, per se, but I'm trying to increase the urban donations. That's a really big thing."
To support this goal, Friesen has reached out to churches and Christian schools to offer presentations and Sunday morning sermons.
Telling the story of what the Foodgrains Bank is all about... is the ultimate goal.
"I have the pastoral background and part of my job is church engagement and so I'd love to do some speaking engagements in both urban and rural settings. I'd like to build a larger awareness of who the Foodgrains is and try to build some of those relationships that way."
"There's been a lot of great relationships that have already been built," he adds. "I just want to do the job and do it well. There's lots of different parts to this job. I also want to meet as many people as possible and to tell the story of who the Canadian Foodgrains Bank is. I think we are a fantastic organization and so I look forward to telling as many people as possible."
Telling the story of what the Foodgrains Bank is all about, and the organizations they partner with, and the many projects around the world is the ultimate goal, no matter what the setting is, says Friesen. "Whether it be in a church, or whether it be on a farmer's field, or in a restaurant or in a machine shed, or it could be at a local coffee shop here in Winnipeg.'
Related Article: Foodgrains Bank welcomes Dale Friesen as new Manitoba Rep
To contact Dale Friesen for a speaking engagement or for more information on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, please email him at dfriesen@foodgrainsbank.ca