afe uj 77 mv eoqrioirdst 47t4pttf 25000 t vvc -f- j c l wftrw- york region farmers have o by joan ransberry staff writer l jr ork region fanners are ingoing toskare their har- vest with ethiopii afarmgraindrive -v- designed tocornbat i world hunger indudlngfamine- stricken ethiopia has been launched in york region j local farmers including the 125 members of me york soil arid crop improvement association are ejected tdrally behindthe cause x it seemshke the right thing to do stouffville farmer rod king said aafelf share the harvest theneedis astronomical mpretiiari 7 millionpebple die s of starvation every year about i 33000 chldreh from hiingerand preventable dis eases p- i- j malnutrition accounts for more deathsthan any infectious dis v easeswar orwwralsaster- yetmoit malhuthtion can be prevented through tiae provision of basic needs such as food king pointed out r and targeting starvation seems l like appropriateaction for yorks s farming community siss christianbased piglarrization that collects arid distributes grain and t n other raw aghculturalgoods burkholder explained a the special bank is a coalition ofl3chukmembervarfaisafed 1 erally incorporated nonprofit cor- pbration registered as acharitable organization it impresses burkholder because its not top heavy with administrative costs the canadian foodgrains bank is helpirigto break the cycle of recurring hunger by providing food and development assistance to those who need it most while working to implement long term solutions to hurigenr in the past 17years canadiafrfoddgrains batik has provided more thanjooooo metric i tonnes of grain to the hungry in africa asia europe and the americas amemberofthewidefhan mennonite church burkholder is r encouraging his and other church- es to get involved the york region howard burkholder rodking and terry oconnor checkout the bar project could be extremely sue- 1 ii rx j 1 1 f du cessful if it snowballs- burkholder leyin this bin the men are the movers and shakers ofthe york region 1 01 riicto 11 r l virr t ri j t whats happening l music mania thuisday through saturday stouffville district secondary school v y sof grain valued at 5000 dying of starvation last yearydrk farmers i donated about 15 jonnes 4 r farm drive which collectsgnuhs to bvsent to countries where people are in the past 17 years canadian j foodgrains bank has provided more than 700000 metric tonnes 5 of grained the hungry inafrica asia- europe and the americas 1 1 v oconnor is spending much of his time reminding farmers that t v donations of grain cash and other agricultural goods are urgently -needed- of course we take cash dona tions tod oconnor said oconnor is a familiar face in t countries was grown on jack warriners farm in markham and lawrence smiths sharon farm donations to the canadian foodgrain bank are matched by the canadian international development association cida at a ratio of four to one thanks to the efforts of york region farmers 20000 worth of y v- donated iriybrk region grain l besides ethiopia canadian- growers include king markharrt grown wheat helps food shortages jarmer howard burkholder and in barigladeshrkehya niger i hugh mitchel of oak ridges rwanda guinea bulgaria on a national scale the projects r ijganda zambia and madagascar i involve growing wheat beans 11 most of us watch in helpless v 1 corn barley oats soyheahssun- horrojras the media focuses on flowers and sweetcqrh ethiopiapictures of starving chil- as well the community projects dreri easy to forget but farm- need donations of money time ers arent sitting idleln an effort to and labour as well as commodities grain reached the world hungry jthe local agricultural community r vstothe suffering the farmers have such as feftilizerschemical sprays last year j before retiring to a small farm on joined the canadian foddgraihs and shortrun trucking in this situation the buying bethesda road he was a veterinar- banlcvtj king said if the word geriout power of the canadian dollar is iah serving stouffville and sur- canadasjnput makes a differ- more farmers from stouffville impressive lt founding areas for 30 years before j ence lasvyear canadian farmers j richmond hill markharheast one tonne of grain feeds 2500 retiring oconnor practised veteri- donated 5 million wofuvoc newmarket king for a day a 100dohation will feed n medicihe for two years in grain providing foodassistahce to t0wr1shipand keswick will ear- a family of five for three months nicaraguatwherehecamefaceto 24 countries o tv mark some of this years grain crop said project colorolnatdrdrterry facewitk hurigert throughthe special food bank s to help ease the suffering oconnor r v i sawit i understand why community growing projects are last yeari york farmers donated while 1999was a tough year for theres sucha need for help said poppingup across the country in about15 tonnes of grain valiiedat r itmawt ontario therearemore than 110 5000 1 growing prpjeets under way-each- we expect to exceed that l project averages about 16 acres- burkholder said so farrisacres have been last year grain for famine-rid- many canadian farmers it didnt dampen their commitment to fighting world hunger oconnor stressed- canadian foodgrains bank is a oconnor- j vv for more information on the local canadian foodgrains banfccall 6401171 6405162 or 6404636 v sha6n brazjerhas been performing in tjiemusicmanja varietysriowfor37year5 and hbdsapdster prorhotingthis years event the 40th j- entitled 5f crazy teer40yeak k seniorgamesregistratio dust off thegolf clubs get outme walking shoes and t sharpen your card sensed- the york region senior summer- games come to geofgina may 23 to june 9 thisisanopportunityfor seniors across the region to socialize show off their skills and enjoy themselves in events from euchre tennis and bowling to shuffleboard golf snooker f cribbage and swimming were expecting about 1100 people to take part fromall v municipalities in york region said laura hardingpfgeorginas leisure servicesdepartment other events include a prediction walk along the shore dflesimcde where you j predict how long it will take you to complete the walk swim- rriingi lawn bowlingfable ten- nis bocci dartshorseshoesand even a choral competition t y although geqrgina istlie host cqrnmunity events will be taking place elsewhere in the v- region fivepin bowling in s newmarket 10pinhowlingin 7 richmond hillcarpet bowling in holland landing and bocce mwoodbridge- v forms and rl of the events are avail- able at all municipalbffices in theregionthecleadlineforreg- istratioh is may 5 1 f for rrioreinformation call 476-4301- ext 240 jt