CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks donates roughly one million chicken meals to food banks annually
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Yesterday, Ernie Hardeman, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, joined the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) to provide the Helping Hand Food Bank in Tillsonburg with locally grown chicken.
Chicken Farmers of Ontario photo
The donation was a component of the “CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks program, which donates about 1 million fresh chicken meals to food banks throughout the province each year, in partnership with the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB),” a CFO
release said yesterday.
The program is an important aspect of the producer group, Murray Opsteen, CFO’s first vice chair and CFO Cares Volunteer Working Group chair, told Farms.com today.
“Farmers are community-oriented, and they like to give back.
“We see the need (for food banks). Kids get fed and families get fed. It just works better for everyone,” he said.
Hundreds of farm families donate to local food banks across Ontario through the CFO Cares Farmers to Food Banks program to fight hunger, said Ed Benjamins, CFO chair, in the release.
“Ontario’s chicken farmers are community members, volunteers, coaches, group leaders, and families that take pride in helping our neighbours and giving what we can, when we can,” he said.
Chicken Farmers of Ontario photo
The CFO launched its food bank program in 2015, which allows producers to donate up to 300 locally grown chickens to food banks in Ontario. Over 375 families are participating in this year’s initiative.
The program donations make a tremendous difference in the lives of many Ontarians, Hardeman said in the release.
“The CFO Cares Farmers to Food Banks program showcases the generosity of Ontario’s chicken farmers and the hard work they do all year round to make this remarkable contribution possible,” he said.
The OAFB helps 500,000 people who visit food banks in the province annually.
branex/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo