Four local food non-profits will receive part of Mosaic's $2.5M commitment

Local food agencies work hard to make sure local at-risk people know where their next meal is coming from.

Four local agencies can also enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that they will receive significant funding for the next three years. Wednesday, the Mosaic Company pledged $2.5 million to 12 Saskatchewan non-profit organizations over the next three years as part of their commitment to food security and food education in Saskatchewan.

The four local agencies are: Hunger in Moose Jaw, Riverside Mission, Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, and the Wakamow Valley Authority.

"Without donors like Mosaic giving to non-profits in our community we wouldn't be able to do the jobs that we do. They give us a significant portion of funds to do the things that we need to do. Getting $2.5 million over three years is a really good deal for us here in Saskatchewan," said Rachel Mullens, interim manager of Riverside Mission.

The funding was announced at the Regina Food Bank with Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie representing the city along with the local agencies.

Karen Swager, Mosaic’s new senior vice-president, potash, made the announcement and said that the multi-year commitment is a testament to the hard work of food agencies to provide hunger relief to vulnerable families and children.

For the Wakamow Valley Authority, the funding represents a continuation of the funding they receive annually as part of their Mosaic Community Food Farm. This funding will allow them to continue their partnership with the three food security agencies in the city: Hunger in Moose Jaw, the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank and the Riverside Mission.

"It enables us to continue with this program and this partnership," said Margaret Moran, CEO for Wakamow Valley Authority. "Through the summer we provide fresh produce that they can add either to their meals, lunches or to the hampers that they give out at the Food Bank.

"It's a really important program. There's the food aspect as well, but it also provides opportunities for newcomers in Moose Jaw to give back to the community. We work very closely with Moose Jaw Multicultural. They come down once or twice a week and they learn how to garden, how to grow their own produce and they also really enjoy that aspect of giving back to the country that has given back to them." 

The other local non-profits are expecting to meet with representatives from Mosaic to iron out the details of how much funding they will receive, but they are expecting to see an increase in their funding.

Having some of the pressure to secure funding taken off of their shoulders should only make the community groups stronger.

"There's programs that we have thought of wanting to do in the past and this could possibly be a way for us to make those viable," Mullens said. "To know that there will be a steady amount of money that we know Mosaic will donate towards our initiative over the next three years helps us to be able to do more planning and make significant plans towards the future because we know we have this kind of set money coming our way."

The announcement comes at an important time for the local Food Bank. Deann Little, assistant manager at the Moose Jaw & District Food, said that they have been "a nice number of thousands of dollars" short of meeting their annual budget in recent years.

"It's absolutely incredible to get news like that," Little said. "Our monetary funds have been down the last few years. We haven't been making our budget, so to be able to get an announcement like that, that they're coming on to donate is absolutely so exciting for us."

The Food Bank had a new initiative, a Christmas newsletter that brought in funds, but they are still expecting to be short on meeting their budget for 2018.

"Food-wise, we're doing OK right now. It's just the monetary aspect is just where we're needing to increase that a little bit," Little said. 

While people continue to donate food to meet the ever-increasing needs of the Food Bank, they need funding for their two full-time and two part-time staff members, in addition to the purchase of 360-400 dozen eggs a month. The Food Bank also uses the funds to purchase meat and they strive to provide milk to children under 18 in households that are their clients.

The Moose Jaw Food Bank handed out 4,355 food hampers in 2018 and had 390 new sign-ups, which can range from one person to a full household.

"Our numbers were up this last year -- both for pounds for donation coming in and also for clients, as well as new sign-ups. We had record highs all across the board last year," Little said. "A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet. When they're able to access our Food Bank here, they can put the money that they do have towards another bill they might have."

Hunger In Moose Jaw is pleased with their bottom line currently, but are also overjoyed at the funding for the next three years.

"We just came off of our 'I Bought A Lunch' campaign and that went beyond our $50,000 goal,so that helps and gives us a little bit of a cushion for the coming year," said Sharla Sept, executive director of Hunger in Moose Jaw. "It's always a comfort to have consistent funding so that our programs continue on. We appreciate their continued partnership and it gives us a little peace of mind for the next few years."

Hunger in Moose Jaw provides approximately 300 lunches per day to 18 different schools through their child nutrition program.

The eight other groups that are part of Mosaic's finding initiatives are The Salvation Army, REACH, Regina & District Food Bank, Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, Carmichael Outreach, CHEP Good Food Inc., Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre, and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (Mosaic Extreme School Makeover Challenge).