In celebration of local agriculture, members of the Kent Federation of Agriculture joined forces Feb. 13 to offer support to the food banks in Chatham.
The date, the second Tuesday in February, marked Canada Ag Day, a time across the country where agricultural contributions are recognized.
Here in C-K, it’s a time for farmers and ag businesses to give back.
Paige Handsor of the KFA, said the day is special locally.
“It’s a time to really celebrate agriculture, the generations that are in it, the new generations to come and all the hard work we put into producing the food,” she said.
As part of Canada Ag Day in C-K, KFA members donate fresh produce, cash and even meat to Outreach for Hunger and the Salvation Army food banks.
“We usually try to focus on food donations from farmers in Chatham-Kent,” Handsor said. “This year there have been potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, apples, pears, strawberries – it’s a wide assortment to show the diversity of agriculture that we have here.”
Handsor added more than $5,000 in cash was donated to the food banks as well, plus a great deal of ground beef.
“We’re working with Southwest Meat Packers out of Thamesville and we’re going to be purchasing ground beef that will be donated to both Outreach and the Salvation Army throughout various times of the year. They’ll be getting about 1,000 pounds of ground beef.”
Maj. Larry Bridger of the Salvation Army said the donations are appreciated.
“It means a lot. You get a lot of fresh produce. And that’s something we don’t get a whole lot of. For nutrition value for our clients, you need that,” he said. “Fresh produce, that helps tremendously. This event is excellent.”
Brenda LeClair of Outreach for Hunger concurred.
“To see the fresh produce coming in and to recognize the labour intensity to produce the product and then turning it around and donating it to families who need it the most, that’s special,” she said.
Brad Snobelen, president of the KFA, said members are proud to take part in helping others.
“We love to be part of the community. Agriculture is such a big part of the community. We love to show our support for those in need,” he said. “Farmers are very generous with the donations. It’s never much of an ask whenever we approach somebody. Everybody’s always willing to donate and they know it’s staying here in our community.”
Handsor said helping others just feels right.
“It’s always fantastic to give back. We’re helping the community throughout the year. For a lot of these businesses, they are continuously donating,” she said.
