Retired Canadian Dairy Farmer helps Feed Needy Children

Dec 28, 2012

Did you leave a glass of milk and cookies out for Santa this Christmas? Imagine if you had no milk?

There are thousands of children in Haiti who do not have access to this basic nourishment. Canadian Food for Children (CFFC), BC, through its Haiti Milk project is trying to change that. The goal of the Haiti Milk project is simple, to ensure that children in Haiti receive nourishment.

The milk – all through donations from dairy farmers and dairy organizations – is converted to powered milk to facilitate shipping. They ship the milk powder every six months, to ensure the milk powder is not stale. The amount CFFC ship depends on the funds and donations it has received. Their goal is to ensure that 20,000 children receive at least one glass of milk each day – something the rest of us would take for granted.

Canadian Food for Children, BC Division (it is not connected with a similar group in Toronto) was started by retired dairy farmers Joseph and Loretta Krentz, who converted three dairy barns on their property in Langley, British Columbia to house the growing organization.

The charity works with other charities to ship food directly to ports around the World, where food is needed to feed the children. The organization currently ships to Africa, Caribbean (Haiti), Eastern Europe, Asia (Philippines), and Central America. It is an organization completely run by its volunteers – no paid staff -- its simple mission is to “help the suffering and starving children of the world by raising funds to purchase food for the hungry in developing or disaster stricken countries.”

The organization runs several different projects, including the Haiti Milk Project. The first shipment of milk to Haiti was received in August 2012 and distributed at an orphanage facility in Bon-Repos, Haiti. “The milk is not only nutritious for the children but it tastes good too and they love it, love it. [This is] the first time the children are getting a glass of milk every morning and already we [can] see the big difference it makes,” reported Pastor Bob Lefranc August 7, 2012, from Haiti, after the first shipment was received.Canadian Food for Children, BC is hoping its second shipment will arrive in Haiti shortly.

Donations to Canadian Food for Children, BC can be made in many ways: volunteer time, milk donations, corporate donations, and of course cash is greatly appreciated, either by cheque or online. For more information about Canadian Food for Children, BC, or to make a donation, visit http://canadianfoodforchildren.org.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.