Harvest of Hunger huge success; Event raises over $250,000 to end hunger

Thousands of people flocked to a grain farm north of Monkton, Ontario on Wednesday, October 5th, to take part in Harvest for Hunger.

The goal of the day was to set a world record for the fastest time to harvest 160 acres of soybeans and to raise $200,000 for Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The five farmers – Richard Van Donkersgoed, Peter Rastorfer, Mike Koetsier, Randy Drenth, and John Tollenaar – more than realized their goal

120 combines started rolling at exactly 1:30 PM, stirring up dust and excitement among the thousands of people gathered to watch.

Brent Bannerman’s and Ryan Osborn’s parents took them out of school to witness the event.
“It’s pretty cool” said Brent, whose family farms nearby.

Maaike Nagel also attended with her two youngest children–Christine, aged two, and Lukas, aged six.

“It’s a once in a lifetime event,” said Magel of the opportunity to see 120 combines in action at the same time.

“It’s wonderful to see this kind of community support for such a good cause.”

Community support was evident in many forms, including the over 300 volunteers who helped the day to run smoothly.

And then there were farmers like Harry Mulder, who donated a combine for the event. His dairy farm is about a half-hour drive from the site, but it took an hour to drive there in his combine, at a cost of about $150 per hour.

“This is a challenging year to do this,” he said, “Many farmers are supporting this with their equipment and time, which can be difficult to balance with the weather we’ve been having.”

“That being said, it’s a great cause and we’re glad to be a part of it,” he added. 

The rain that postponed the event twice means that many farmers in the area are behind on their own harvesting. Taking a whole day away–especially one as sunny and dry as Wednesday –was a difficult decision.

But, as Brad Hessels a co-op student learning the ropes under Mulder’s direction put it: “We have been supporting the Foodgrains Bank through our church, but this was a new idea, and we wanted to support this too.”

Harvest for Hunger organizer Mike Koetsier, one who was in charge of site preparation, was thrilled with the all the support.

“I can’t believe it happened,” he said.

“It blows me away that a bunch of hillbilly farmers can make this happen,” he laughed, adding that they were able to trust many tasks to extremely reliable people.

“It’s not for one person’s glory – everyone came out for a good cause,” he explains.

Come to the Table

The five organizers continually made sure the event circled back to their motivation for it, which was rooted in Exodus 23:16: “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.”

Throughout the planning process, they encouraged people to “come to the table,” and bring something to share. People responded in a myriad of ways. Photographers lent their talent, local accountants volunteered to process donations, some directed traffic, others served food, drove media around on ATVs, provided security,  set up tables and chairs, or did many other jobs that made the day a success.

The auction was conducted by The Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, who donated their time and equipment for the soybean auction immediately following the harvest. 

Courtney Van Hevel from Mitchell, Ontario, donated $20 of her babysitting money to the effort.

“My dad was combining today,” she said. “I wanted to donate something too.”

Many of the first bags of beans were auctioned for $1,000 and donated back, raising an additional $15,000 dollars.

Local buyers and processors bought the remainder of the crop, some of which will travel as far as Japan for processing.

Because of strong support from the agricultural community and local businesses, who donated fertilizers, seeds, land, and time to work the crop, all of the funds raised will support the work of the Foodgrains Bank around the world.

"It's a celebration of all the great things we've been given in the area," said Randy Drenth, who chaired the organizing committee. "We're trying to do something to help those who don't have what we have."