How is the food used?

For any response to be effective, it must be done well. This means Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canadian church members, local churches and overseas organizations must work in close partnership. This helps ensure that, despite challenging political situations and often difficult transportation logistics, the food reaches the intended people.

More importantly, it means that local people are involved in defining their needs. For example, in one village, water and wells may be the highest priorities while, in another, it may be terracing land to prevent soil erosion or agricultural education in the areas of new crops and insects.

When individuals and communities make these decisions overseas, a sense of partnership is built along with the assurance that the projects are appropriate for the local situation.

The diversity of situations and causes of hunger in the world require a unique response to each situation. Here are 6 of the most common types of responses in which we are involved:

  1. Food - following disasters like flooding, drought, or conflict, families often need food simply to survive. In some cases, they may have exhausted their assets or have migrated in search of work. In others, they may have been forced to move because of civil war. These situations require direct food distributions to sustain life and to protect productive assets.
  2. Food for Work - when one or more members are able to work, food can be distributed to families as wages in exchange for physical labour on projects designed to improve local communities. A day's wage may be 15 pounds of wheat or rice. The work may be digging new wells or irrigation canals, or building a school. These projects can help reduce chronic hunger or assist with rehabilitation activities following disasters.
  3. Seeds - the provision of locally suitable seeds is an effective way to assist people produce needed food. Last year, we provided over 700 tonnes of vegetable, maize, cassava, wheat and rice seed to assist families in re-starting their fields and gardens. Seeds are open-pollinated varieties, so people will be able to harvest their own seed supply for future years.
  4. Tools - families may have lost their tools during flooding or while fleeing conflict or perhaps had to sell off their basic farm tools like hoes, watering cans and ploughs to buy food. If families now have access to land, tools are an effective way to help them establish farms and produce food.
  5. Local Purchase - food may sometimes be purchased near the area of need, rather than be shipped from Canada. This can greatly speed up response times and ensure that the food is appropriate for the local diet. Purchasing locally is often a very cost effective use of donor dollars and has the added benefit of supporting farmers in developing countries.
  6. Cash Food Security - in certain cases, cash is used to assist projects like agricultural extension work, which are designed to increase local knowledge and understanding of better farm practices.