Grow Hope Saskatchewan is launching its eigth season with a new national partner - Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank's 'Grow Hope Saskatchewan' project connects farmers who donate land with donors who help to cover input costs.
The project started in 2017 as a way to get more people involved in the effort to help end global hunger, originally a collaboration between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.
The Grow Hope Saskatchewan website notes that at the time, two farmers agreed to help kickstart the project with a total of 160 acres designated for the project. By 2022, five farm families agreed to designate farmland to the project, bringing the total to 300 acres amongst five farm families. The project continues to grow every year.
How it works
1. Generous farmers in Saskatchewan agree to grow and donate land to grow a crop for Grow Hope Saskatchewan.
2. You sponsor the growth of a crop with a donation to help cover the costs of farming. It costs up to $350 per acre to provide seed, fertilizer, fuel and other things needed to grow a crop.
3. After harvest, farmers sell the crop and donate the proceeds to Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The proceeds from the sale of the crop 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 be matched 4:1 through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s Partnership with Global Affairs Canada.
Rick Block, Saskatchewan Representative for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank says in 2024, 440 acres were sponsored, raising over $248,000.
This year, the goal is 500 acres.
Grow Hope Saskatchewan is a partnership between Mennonite Central Committee, Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), Saskatoon Catholic Diocese, Development and Peace, Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM), Synod of Saskatchewan of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Alongside Hope, and Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR).