Partnership between AGI, Mohawk Medbuy, and the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation will gather and deliver medical supplies to Ukraine.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com
With the need for humanitarian aid growing everyday in war-torn Ukraine, Winnipeg-headquartered global enterprise Ag Growth International Inc. (AGI) announced that it, along with Mohawk Medbuy Corporation (MMC) of Burlington, Ontario, and the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation of Toronto, will partner to purchase and deliver emergency medical equipment and supplies.
“With our employees on the ground in Ukraine and our valued AGI customer, Kernel Grain Company, we are in a unique position to procure emergency medical supplies, arrange transport from Canada to Poland, and then make them directly available to the people in Ukraine through our on-the-ground employees, resources, and customer logistics," said Tim Close, AGI President and Chief Executive Officer.
The group will work with St. Michael’s Foundation, a publicly registered charity, to receive and process all donations.
“Being a part of this collaboration is a natural extension of our mission and values and a way for us to help those in need,” stated Lili Litwin, President and Chief Executive Officer for the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.
MMC is a a procurement expert, a national, not-for-profit, shared services organization used by Canadian hospitals and health care providers to provide supplies and services. MMC said it would work with its vendor network to source and secure the medical supplies most needed in Ukraine including tourniquets, bandages, gauze, oxygen masks and first aid kits.
“We are honoured to participate and use our proven abilities to source supplies that address Ukraine’s urgent medical crisis. Together, we can swiftly and effectively procure supplies and leverage transportation channels to deliver as much relief as possible,” related Tony DiEmanuele, the President and Chief Executive Officer for MMC.
With historic relationships across Ukraine’s grain and ag sector and its in-country employees, AGI and Kernel Grain Company will leverage their local logistics and delivery capability to act quickly.
“Since the beginning of war in Ukraine, Kernel has been actively supporting medical institutions as well as local towns that suffered from shelling and missile attacks. We seek to use our logistical resources in the most efficient way possible to deliver humanitarian goods and prevent food security crisis in Ukraine. We appeal to our partners to join us in providing necessary aid. Together we can procure medical supplies, equipment, and food as quickly as possible. This would be our common contribution in saving thousands of lives, our common step towards peace,” explained Mykola Miroshnichenko, Kernel-Trade Director Manager.
To drive the humanitarian initiative, AGI has donated $200,000 and established a fundraising effort and voluntary donation link for U.S. and Canada at #StepUp4Ukraine.
"From farmers to processors, the global agricultural community is a family with a strong legacy of nurturing those in need. This is an urgent call to action for participation on any level. No donation is too small. The medical supply need is great, and time is of the essence,” summed up AGI’s Close.
AGI is a provider of the physical equipment and digital technology solutions needed to support global food infrastructure including grain, fertilizer, seed, feed, and food processing systems. AGI has manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, France, and Italy and distributes its product globally. www.aggrowth.com #StepUp4Ukraine.
Kernel Grain Company is the world’s leading and Ukraine’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, and a major supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region to international markets. Kernel exports its products to more than 80 countries of the world. www.kernel.ua.
St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation is a community of supporters who are galvanized by St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare’s ‘never-say-never’ spirit in the face of the toughest health problems of our time. www.stmichaelsfoundation.ca.
Mohawk Medbuy is a national, not-for-profit, shared services organization that supports hundreds of hospitals and non-acute care providers in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Manitoba, and the Yukon. MMC provides efficient, cost-effective procurement of medical/surgical supplies, pharmaceutical products, capital equipment and food/nutrition solutions, as well as warehousing and logistics, accounts payable and linen services. www.mohawkmedbuy.ca.