Central Alberta Foodgrains Project had a bumper year.
The charitable initiative raised $93,111 so far on this year’s canola crop, the second highest dollar amount in 21 years. That total could hit $100,000 as other donations trickle in.
Five volunteers farmers were out on Remembrance Day harvesting 120 acres of canola. In five hours, 8,600 bushels were taken off the field and hauled by Blackfalds’ Vision Truck Lines to the Richardson Grain Elevator, just east of Lacombe.
“Given the challenging harvest conditions this fall, what with the snow and rain, this is a fabulous result,” says Doug Maas, a member of the project committee. Organizers had initially planned to harvest in early October but wet conditions kept equipment off the fields throughout the region.
All of the funds raised will be sent to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in Winnipeg. Crop expenses not covered by donations were covered by donations earlier in the year to the project’s Sponsor-An-Acre Program.
All of the donations gathered from 200 growing projects across Canada are matched by the federal government, which provides $4 for every charitable dollar raised.
The money goes towards charitable projects around the world. In February, nine projects in nine countries from Indonesia to Ethiopia worth $3 million were funded, with 25,000 people expected to benefit.