Grain Growers Against Hunger

Grain Growers Against Hunger

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report.

Grain growers in Eastern Washington will soon have the opportunity to help improve the lives of hungry people through a new program created in partnership by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and Second Harvest, a regional food bank system.

Second Harvest Chief Resource Officer Rod Wieber shares more details about the new program.

Wieber: “Through this new innovative program called Washington Grain Growers Against Hunger, farmers will have the ability to donate proceeds of their sold crop to Second Harvest. The program works very simple, when a grain farmer goes to sell their crop, they will have the ability to designate a dollar amount and gift the proceeds to Second Harvest.”

Second Harvest will be presenting the program and promotional material to grain elevators across Eastern Washington within the next month.

Wieber says these donations will really help make a difference for the hungry.

Wieber: “The proceeds will help us secure and distribute more free food to our network of 250 food banks and meal centers throughout the Inland Northwest who just continue to see unprecedented need in their small communities within our service area.”

He says now more than ever before there is a great need to help the hungry.

Wieber: “Right now today, we are seeing one in six people here in Eastern Washington who are hungry or in risk of hunger. When you look at three years ago, that number was one in eight.”

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

For more information on the program, go to www.2-harvest.org.