Make the Season Kind

CBC is embracing a heartwarming campaign to spread the Christmas spirit. Their public service announcements feature a series of recognizable public figures sharing the message of “make the season kind.” To augment this message each celebrity stands holding a cardboard box filled to the brim with groceries. These PSAs encourage us all to make the season kind, highlighting the importance of giving.

Reflecting on these powerful messages, I found myself pondering a “what if.” What if people calculated the amount they spend on Christmas shopping and redirected a portion of it to their local food bank? Historically, tithing has meant contributing a tenth of one's income to a faith community. What if we considered applying this same practice to food security by calculating 10% of our Christmas spending and donating to a food bank. In light of your calculated amount, making a donation, in whole or in part, would be a meaningful, modern twist or addition to a long-standing practice.

I donated 10% of the amount I calculated that I spent on gifts this holiday season to my local food bank. I offer a friendly challenge to those of you who are fortunate enough to enjoy food security -  make your own donation.

Let us make this season one of giving in a way that truly nourishes our communities. ‘Tis the Season. 💗

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Image: JESHOOTS.COM @jeshoots/ Unsplash

Local Crops that Feed the World

This summer, while travelling the highways and byways of our beautiful countryside, did you ever wonder what happens to the crops in the fields along the way after they are harvested?  Well, here’s one answer.  Tucked into the landscape on Hwy. 8 in southwestern Ontario is the pretty town of Mitchell.  Set off to the left amid the fields ripe for the harvest and down a lane sits a constellation of huge silos and dryers waiting to receive the precious mature grains from the millions of acres of crops grown in the miles of surrounding fields.

A small army of skilled workers labor year-round and especially during the summer months at Mitchell’s mammoth grain elevators to receive the bountiful harvest of corn, canola, soybeans, white beans, etc.  Following the harvest, these grains are hauled by an assortment of huge trucks and grain wagons to the waiting elevators where they are sorted and dried, if necessary.  Then, the produce is poured into various sized bags and bins and shipped worldwide.  Some of the countries receiving the grains include the USA, Europe, England, Australia New Zealand, and parts of Africa.

My nephew has been employed at the Mitchell grain elevators for several decades. On chatting with him recently, I was amazed as he related the daily process to prepare crops from field to destination to ensure that the product will make its way around the world to feed the hungry in foreign lands. This scenario is repeated many times in grain elevators that dot the land throughout our countryside. Indeed, across Canada, many other foods are grown locally and exported to distant places. Think of potatoes from PEI, grains, and a variety of vegetables from Ontario, wheat from the prairie provinces, delicious apples from Beautiful BC as well as dairy products from most provinces. These are a fraction of products grown in Canada’s fields and greenhouses.

Not all land in Canada is arable. We must pay close attention to protecting rural areas and precious farm soil.  I’m sure you’ve heard the recent saying, “They’re not making land anymore”.  Therefore, I wonder how a group of greedy developers could convince Ontario’s premier to dip into Toronto’s Green Belt and destroy thousands of acres of precious protected land! Thank God for the uprising of thousands of voices that caused the Ontario government to reverse its decision and enable the Green Belt to continue to help feed the world for generations to come.

 -Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ

IMAGE: Unsplash/Ant Rozetsky