Sask. food banks to benefit from farmers’ crop donations to AGT Foods

Farmers now have the opportunity to donate some of the extra grain in their bin and put food directly onto the dinner plates of Saskatchewan people.

AGT Foods is teaming up with Food Banks Canada and Drive Away Hunger for the AGT Food Bank Crop Exchange Program.

The program will connect producers across Saskatchewan with food banks in their communities by allowing them to “round down” their deliveries of pulses, grain or canola at AGT Foods facilities.

According to a media release, if a farmer delivers 40 metric tonnes and decides to donate one metric tonne, they’ll receive a receipt for their donation as well as payment for 39 metric tonnes. Then, local and provincial food banks will receive a dollar-for-dollar food credit from AGT towards pasta, rice and other staple foods.

“The idea here was to take the power of the farm and convert it into what was needed at the food banks,” Murad Al-Katib, the president and CEO of AGT Foods, said during a media conference Thursday.

Farmers will be able to request to designate their donation so it goes back into their community.

“Food insecurity is at an all-time high in our province, and when you look at the 43 per cent of the people being served at the Regina Food Bank as children, that’s something that’s important to AGT,” said Al-Katib. “That’s something that’s important to myself and my family.

“It’s probably one of the prouder days I’ve had in terms of realizing how much of an impact we can make.”

Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit said if there was this opportunity, he would be happy to “round down” to donate.

He said if he had 12.3 tonnes of grain and donated a third, the dollar donation value would add up quickly if other farmers did the same.

“If 100 farmers did that in one day, you’d have 30 tonnes of food that’s going to a good cause,” said Marit.

John Bailey, the CEO of the Regina Food Bank, said the program gives farmers a more effective way to donate in the province.

“This will open up an incredible availability on a couple of different levels for us. For one, it’s just an incredibly high volume of incredibly high-quality product,” he said.

The Regina Food Bank has seen the demand for its services double in recent months.

Bailey said the food bank’s goal is to provide healthy options for people rather than just fill calories. Plus, a large volume of high-quality products from farmers will be coming through the doors.

“Having reliable, predictable access to the food we need, when we need it, is really going to be a huge enabler of that,” said Bailey.

If the program reaches the goal it’s setting out, Bailey said it could be huge for the Regina Food Bank to meet the needs for more people.

“If we are going to get the response we are anticipating, it is going to be a game-changer for us to meet our ability to actually meet the needs of our community,” said Bailey.