Grow Hope SK launches 6th growing season to fight world hunger

SASKATOON — Saskatchewan urban and rural communities are coming together to support people worldwide who need emergency food assistance. Grow Hope Saskatchewan has launched its sixth growing season, which invites farmers and donors to unite and learn about farming and the collective responsibility to be good stewards of our resources.

According to Rick Block, Regional Representative with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, funds raised through the grain-growing project support people worldwide who need emergency food assistance and improve long-term food security.

Grow Hope Saskatchewan is a tangible way for productive land in Saskatchewan to have a direct and positive impact on many worldwide who do not have access to food, the “bounty that comes from the land.”

“We are farmers and Grow Hope allows us to help those in need while doing what we love. Do you also feel a call within your heart to help this great organization feed the world?, said Michelle Hergott, a Grow Hope farmer near Bruno, Saskatchewan, about the initiative:”

Folks are invited to sponsor an acre for $350, which can result in proceeds of up to $500 from the sale of that crop. This, in turn, may be matched 4:1 through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s Partnership with Global Affairs Canada.

Throughout the year, Grow Hope Saskatchewan offers multiple opportunities for community engagement, including a field day, recipes connected to the grains grown, and artwork inspired by the landscapes of Grow Hope fields.

Grow Hope Saskatchewan started as a collaboration between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, MCC Saskatchewan, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon in the winter of 2017 to find creative ways to unite urban and rural communities in the effort to end global hunger.

The 2023 Grow Hope Saskatchewan project is a partnership of the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle, Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund, PWRDF, Synod of SK of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Presbyterian World Service & Development, Mennonite Central Committee of Saskatchewan, Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, Development & Peace Caritas Canada, and Canadian Baptist Ministries.

In 2022, Grow Hope Saskatchewan had a record-breaking year, raising $299,000 to end global hunger worldwide. Since its inception in 2017, Grow Hope Saskatchewan has raised $748,000 for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, with the first crop planted in 2018.

Leveraging matching grants from Global Affairs Canada received at the highest rate; the total contribution would be about $3.74 million.

Individual donations are welcome through the summer, and several exciting opportunities for corporate sponsorship exist. At the launch of the 2023 growing season, there are 421 available donated acres to sponsor.

It costs as much as $350 to sponsor an acre of land, which includes seed, fertilizer, fuel, and other inputs needed to grow a crop. Donors can support partial acres, a full acre, or multiple acres.