RIVERS
BANNER September 1, 2017
ersary v i n Celebrating our 109th An
Gazette-Reporter
Serving the Rivers, Rapid City and Oak River areas for 108 years
Volume 110, Issue 9
89¢ + tax
Photo by Sheila Runions
Two decades of donations
A sign on Hwy. 25 proudly boasts to passersby the reason for multiple machines harvesting this field, though only one is shown in this picture.
By Sheila Runions Banner Staff
I
n February 1998 Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) hosted an information meeting at Rivers Legion Hall, which resulted in the formation of Acres of Hope. It is now 20 years later and this volunteer group continues to co-ordinate grow projects near Rivers and Oak River and forward all harvest of that year’s given crop to CFGB. The 2017 harvest three miles east of Rivers was held on Aug. 22 on 150 acres of land rented from Larry
Fast. In a matter of 90 minutes, eight combines of four different colours gathered 7,296 bushels (48.6 bushels per acre) of spring wheat, which was trucked by seven semis to Viterra’s elevator north of Forrest. It sold for $6.84 per bushel; when that amount is matched 4:1 by the Canadian government, it means Acres of Hope can send CFGB a $199,616 cheque! (It will not be that amount because there are expenses to pay.) In addition to the combines
and trucks, there were three grain carts and a dozen individual vehicles which transported supporters/sponsors, such as Deerboine Colony (free caramel rolls for the crowd) to the field. Prior to the afternoon harvest, Hope chairman Ron Krahn told the audience they have raised more than $600,000 (or $2.4 million) in those 20 years. Today it takes an average of $15 to feed a family for a month, so those dollars have significant impact to people in need. Since
its inception in 1983, CFGB has provided assistance to 65 million people; the 2015-16 year was a $43 million program involving one million people in 40 countries. CFGB not only provides immediate food assistance, they educate farmers on conservation practices, they provide nutritional education/ clean water and they lobby for public policy changes in both Canada and abroad. CFGB is supported by 15 partner agencies, primarily churches.
Besides the plot at Rivers, there is an 50-acre section of land 2.25 miles southwest of Oak River which has been donated annually by Herman Lepp. Wheat from that f ield will need another two or three weeks before it is ripe enough to harvest. Seed from that field will also be sold and matched by the federal government, up to a maximum of a $25 million donation from Canadian International Development Agency, which is funded by taxpayers.