The harvest has begun. The Canadian Foodgrains Bank kicked off this year's harvest fundraiser with their first FOCUS harvest this season yesterday at Ken Friesen's farm, just north of Oakville. FOCUS stands for Feed Other Countries Undo Starvation. Regional representative Harold Penner was there to celebrate.

Harold Penner"This is our first harvest this year, I think. I haven't heard of anybody else going. But projects like this are the backbone of the fundraising for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. We have about 250 projects like this across Canada. About 40 of them here in Manitoba. The harvest
Gerald Loeppky
has begun, and it's a tremendous crop and a tremendous show of support right here today."

Canadian Foodgrains Bank FOCUS grow project chair Gerald Loeppky says, "We were able to organize to have a number of combines come out to harvest our winter wheatfield here at Ken Friesen's just north of Oakville. It's great to see so many people come out just to see how the harvest is coming along. This is the very first field of our FOCUS fields this year. So, it's a great kickoff to the fundraising events that we've been doing."

He notes, "It's a 40 acre field of winter wheat that they're harvesting. And it looks like we did it in a little less than two hours."

Loeppky adds it's great to know we're able to help others.

"We're blessed with great crops and it's just an indication that people are willing to share with those around the world that don't have the abundance that we have."