It has come to this

[kato]

Livestock producers turn to foodbanks for help
The Executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest says some Manitoba livestock producers are turning to food banks for help.

David Northcott has just returned from a tour of food banks in Dauphin and Carberry. He tells CJOB many farmers have told him, they've been pushed to the limit over the B-S-E crisis.

Northcott says rural food banks are now seeing the early stages where farm families are turning to food banks to help supplement "issues" in their lives. He says no one likes the idea of going to food banks whether they're urban or rural folks. However when situations reach these levels, people get worried.

Northcott actually went to the communities to thank farmers for their support over the last number of years. Now he says it's the farmers who need help.

CJOB's Lorne Edwards reporting.

[countryguy]

I heard about this before but forgot to post it.It's a sad day when the people in this world producing the food cannot afford to buy it themselves.

[WoolyBear]

David Northcott announced today that he's seeking the Liberal nomination for Winnipeg Central......... now he figures he can be part of the solution in the federal government. Isn't it odd that so many of the "out spoken members" of the public are turning to politics and trying to run as Liberals of all parties?
Don Dewar, Marcel Hacault, Jim Freisen, Murray Downing, and now David Northcott. They having all been nominated, but..........

[cowman]

I often wonder why we occasionally see these "farmers at food bank" articles? Don't they know how to grow a garden? They have beef animals...don't they know how to butcher one?
Or were they too busy being farmers to grow their own food? Maybe its time some people learned to do more than drive around in a $200,000 tractor or go to roping arenas?

[bshaw2]

ITs the new reality........
Wife gets off farm job, husband takes on more land, or livestock to make ends meet.
Kids still involved at school...... More paperwork to fill out, more bills to pay, less pay coming in for the products that are produced........... leads to more stress than we know how to properly handle, first symptom is always tired, don't have the energy anymore for anything extra apart from everything above.......first thing that gets dropped is the garden. Plus with the drought, and water shortages etc, I guess things don't grow that well do they?
Try raising a family these days.........its nothing at all like it was 30 years ago.

[almoy]

It was a FULL time job keeping the grasshoppers out of the garden here last year!

[cakadu]

There might be many reasons why farmers are going to foodbanks and it is sad that anyone has to go there.

Garden produce doesn't last forever and with it being March, even the frozen vegetables are probably scraping the bottom of the deep freeze.

If they are straight grain farmers, then there is no cow to kill and no money to go and buy a cheap cow to go and kill. Many people are not set up nor have any real idea on how to do it properly.

Even if you do your own, you still have to follow some safe food handling practices.

We need to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

[cowman]

What does the average family spend in food per month? Would $800 be unreasonable?
When I was working just about full time and so was the wife we literally had no time for gardening. So I told my son(about 11 at the time) to grow a garden and I would pay him Safeway prices. He took to it like a duck to water, and with a lot of advice and help from Gramma, he came up with a really decent garden! It netted him over $2000! Which was not to shabby in 1884 for an 11 year old kid! Taught him all kinds of things about botany, economics, common sense! Probably the cheapest and best thing I ever did for him! Also taught him to love the land and its bounty...which is why I have him with me today!!! You just can't buy this stuff!
Today, because of what I did, he continues to be an excellent gardener...much better than me! And quite frankly you just can't buy that feeling? I believe I created a "real" farmer?

[cowman]

Sorry, should read 1984, instead of 1884...I'm not that old even though some of you might consider me a dinosaur! lol