U of G Bean Breeders to Feed Community Through Food Bank Donations

Thousands of beans grown for University of Guelph research projects that might have gone to waste will instead provide nutritious meals to the community through donations to the local food bank. 

Dr. Mohsen Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi, a dry bean breeder and computational biologist in the Ontario Agricultural College, grows nearly 100,000 plants each year for his projects at the Ontario Crops Research Centre in Elora. But, only a few thousand of those plants are needed for U of G’s breeding programs. 

“The rest, thousands of beautiful, colourful and nutritious beans full of potential, are typically left in the field,” Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi says. “Rather than letting them go unused, we’re giving them a new purpose.” 

That new purpose is two-fold: the harvested beans will be donated to the Guelph Food Bank, and used to create art for a United Way fundraiser.  

While beans may seem like an unusual art medium, there are plenty of different colours and classes to use for the project, including navy, black, kidney, cranberry, yellow, pinto and adzuki beans.  

U of G partners with United Way for an annual fundraising campaign, last year collecting more than $460,000. Funds go towards community programs, including food security initiatives, housing programs, youth service and other efforts across Guelph, Wellington and Dufferin.