MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation’s (MFBF’s) Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) committee used the seven County Farm Bureau legislative breakfasts held in March as a platform for donations for Farm Bureau’s charitable Harvest For All program.
The Harvest for All campaign is a partnership between Farm Bureau and Feeding America which provides food to help those in need. More than 50 million Americans – that’s one in six – including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger. Through this program, donations of food, funds and/or volunteer hours are given to local food banks.
“It is important to keep those in need in mind all year round,” said MFBF YF&R Chair Heidi Cooper, a farmer from Rochdale. “In the summer, when there are not a lot of food drives, pantries typically need more food as children aren’t receiving breakfast and lunch at school. As farmers, who produce an abundant supply of food, we have to keep this in mind and continue to provide donations for the food insecure.”
To accomplish this, the YF&R committee asked MFBF farmer members to bring canned goods and/or cash donations to their county-wide legislative breakfasts. Following the breakfast, YF&R committee members donated the collected items to either the Worcester County Food Bank in Shrewsbury, Anchor Baptist Church in Woburn or The Open Door in Ipswich.
“We are very proud of our young farmers for the effort they put into this food drive,” said MFBF President Ed Davidian, who farms in Northborough. “Their conscious effort to donate food to pantries in March is admirable and I hope they keep up the good effort this summer and fall.”
For more information about MFBF’s YF&R Committee, please visit http://www.farmbureau.co/mfbf-
—Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation
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