Farmers from across the Illinois Quad Cities helped local families again in 2021 with their generous Bushels for Hunger donation to the River Bend Food Bank.
The Bushels for Hunger program, now in its 12th year, contributed $22,515 in 2021 to the food bank. As of 2022, total contributions by the Bushels for Hunger program exceed $277,000. Last year’s contribution of 112,000 meals now brings the total amount of meals donated through the program since 2010 to 1,385,600 meals.
Mercer County Farmer and Illinois Farm Bureau District 3 Director Jeff Kirwan presented the donation Feb. 6 to Mike Miller, River Bend’s president and CEO.
“Thanks to the generous donations of thousands of bushels of grain to the Bushels for Hunger campaign, local farmers worked together to fight hunger in the Quad Cities community with these funds,” Mr. Kirwan said in a news release.
Bushels for Hunger is a joint program coordinated by the Illinois County Farm Bureaus in Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties. Farmers donate to the Bushels for Hunger program in conjunction with these grain elevators and ethanol plants: Atkinson Grain, Big River Resources, Cargill, CHS, Consolidated Grain & Barge Co., Gavilon, Gold Star FS, Hillsdale Elevator, River Valley Cooperative and Rumbold & Kuhn.
“I continue to be amazed at the heart of the farming community,” Mr. Miller said. “In spite of all the supply chain challenges of the past year, farmers have still set aside a significant portion of their harvest to help those even less fortunate. On their behalf, we are very thankful to the Illinois Farm Bureau and those who donated.”
