News Briefs
Back to Weekly News Briefs...October 9, 2008
- A great harvest
- Feel-good holiday shopping
- World Food Day reminder
A great harvest
The near future looks bright for the food-for-work projects that Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) runs in cooperation with Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). Despite late-season rain and temperamental weather in some regions, many Canadian farmers are smiling with good quality crops now safely collected into silos.
“We know both cash and grain donations are up from 2007,” says Heather Plett, director of resources at CFGB. “A lot of people are reporting good crops and [commodity] prices are higher this year,” she adds. Exact donation numbers will be known later in the year.
A food-for-work project involves community members contributing their time and labour towards a community-owned construction project in exchange for food. CLWR currently operates food-for-work projects in Ethiopia, where water retention and diversion for agricultural use are typical goals.
“This weekend is Thanksgiving. Let us thank our farmers for their generosity in sharing the fruits of their labours with other farmers around the world, and let us thank God for another good growing season here at home,” says Robert Granke, CLWR’s executive director.
– CLWR News Service
Feel-good holiday shopping
While Christmas isn’t about the gifts, those gift-wrapped boxes do bring a smile to most of our faces during the holiday. This year you can share that smile with someone in another country, thanks to CLWR’s Four Corners alternative trade program. Four Corners imports an array of gift items that adhere to the concepts of fair trade, namely that the person who made or grew the product got paid a fair price for their work. By supporting fair trade in your Christmas shopping, you can feel better about those holiday indulgences.
Just in time for Christmas, Four Corners has new products from around the globe: leather accessories for men from Bangladesh; salad bowl sets and reclaimed wood photo frames from Thailand; silk handbags and toys from Cambodia; jewellery from India; and Christmas-inspired coffees and teas.
To find out where the nearest Four Corners consignment sale is to you, or to plan your own sale in time for Christmas shopping, call 1.800.661.2597.
World Food Day reminder
For the first time, thousands of Christian Canadians will be joining together one week from today as they fast from food. That’s because next Thursday is World Food Day, a day when time can be set aside to discuss food justice issues.
“Food justice deals with how food is grown, distributed and sold around the world. It deals with the inequities that many small-scale farmers face and the possible solutions of which we may be a part,” says Daranne Harris, CLWR’s director of communications and education.
If you are interested in showing solidarity with other Christians across the country next week, visit www.endhungerfast.com to read about the campaign called Fast for Change.
– CLWR News Service
Back to Weekly News Briefs...
The near future looks bright for the food-for-work projects that Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) runs in cooperation with Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). Despite late-season rain and temperamental weather in some regions, many Canadian farmers are smiling with good quality crops now safely collected into silos.
“We know both cash and grain donations are up from 2007,” says Heather Plett, director of resources at CFGB. “A lot of people are reporting good crops and [commodity] prices are higher this year,” she adds. Exact donation numbers will be known later in the year.
A food-for-work project involves community members contributing their time and labour towards a community-owned construction project in exchange for food. CLWR currently operates food-for-work projects in Ethiopia, where water retention and diversion for agricultural use are typical goals.
“This weekend is Thanksgiving. Let us thank our farmers for their generosity in sharing the fruits of their labours with other farmers around the world, and let us thank God for another good growing season here at home,” says Robert Granke, CLWR’s executive director.
– CLWR News Service
Feel-good holiday shopping
While Christmas isn’t about the gifts, those gift-wrapped boxes do bring a smile to most of our faces during the holiday. This year you can share that smile with someone in another country, thanks to CLWR’s Four Corners alternative trade program. Four Corners imports an array of gift items that adhere to the concepts of fair trade, namely that the person who made or grew the product got paid a fair price for their work. By supporting fair trade in your Christmas shopping, you can feel better about those holiday indulgences.
Just in time for Christmas, Four Corners has new products from around the globe: leather accessories for men from Bangladesh; salad bowl sets and reclaimed wood photo frames from Thailand; silk handbags and toys from Cambodia; jewellery from India; and Christmas-inspired coffees and teas.
To find out where the nearest Four Corners consignment sale is to you, or to plan your own sale in time for Christmas shopping, call 1.800.661.2597.
World Food Day reminder
For the first time, thousands of Christian Canadians will be joining together one week from today as they fast from food. That’s because next Thursday is World Food Day, a day when time can be set aside to discuss food justice issues.
“Food justice deals with how food is grown, distributed and sold around the world. It deals with the inequities that many small-scale farmers face and the possible solutions of which we may be a part,” says Daranne Harris, CLWR’s director of communications and education.
If you are interested in showing solidarity with other Christians across the country next week, visit www.endhungerfast.com to read about the campaign called Fast for Change.
– CLWR News Service
