Karla Fehr, a member of Blumenort Mennonite Church in Gretna, Man., was part of a food study tour group organized by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. They travelled to Nicaragua for about two weeks earlier this year to learn about the link between global hunger and small-scale farmers.
Participants saw how the Foodgrains Bank is responding, what local and national organizations are doing, and learned about global hunger firsthand from the people whose lives it affects.
“It was a wonderful experience” says Fehr. “I wanted to go on this trip because my husband and I have been involved in a local growing project that raises money for the Foodgrains Bank. I was able to see how that money is used in projects in the developing world, how it makes a difference in the lives of people. I also serve on the board of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, but I don’t have any experience in the developing world. I learned firsthand how conservation agriculture and other projects combat global hunger.”
Nicaragua, a small country in Central America, is recovering from years of civil unrest. It is the second-poorest country in Central and Latin America, and almost half of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, according to the World Food Programme. Many children suffer from chronic malnutrition.
Food study tours focus on three main goals, says James Kornelsen, tour leader and public engagement coordinator for the Foodgrains Bank. “There’s a focus on building a sense of global community, learning about hunger, and seeing how Foodgrains Bank member agencies are responding to the needs of hungry people around the world. . . . It’s a powerful way of reminding Canadians about the reality of life for small-scale farmers, and the role that Canada plays in promoting food security in other parts of the world where hunger is more prevalent.”
Canadian church member agencies that run the projects the group visited are Mennonite Central Committee, Presbyterian World Service and Development, and World Renew.
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