REGINA — Bunge is helping fight food insecurity in a renewed partnership with the Regina Food Bank (RFB).
The agribusiness company will supply the foodbank with upwards of 105 tonnes of locally grown lentils yearly, which equates to an estimated value of $250,000 annually.
“We [wanted to] take some of that surplus that we've got and channel it to those in need,” explained Kyle Jeworski, head of Bunge in Canada, on the reasoning behind the partnership at a press conference on Thursday.
Jeworski said the lentils will be supplied from Bunge’s processing plant in Belle Plaine.
The potential 105 tonnes of lentils equate to 1.25 million servings of food, while one bag of lentils is also about five to six servings of food, according to the food bank.
Interim CEO of the RFB, Evelyn Cerda, said this number is huge, considering the number of people the food bank serves.
“We're feeding about 17,000 people every month [and] we just recently added 19,000 students to our client list through our partnership with the public schools.”
Cerda said the lentils will be served with soup and other snacks served by the food bank.
Adding different types of foods allows the RFB to provide more choice and cultural diversity options, noted Cerda.
The RFB previously had a similar partnership with Viterra, which merged with Bunge last year.
As the partnership goes on, Jeworski said Bunge has the capacity to supply the food bank with more lentils.
“We're receptive to continuing to work with the food bank to find other alternatives for lentils and or other products that are grown locally to see how we could fit that in, you know, with those in need.”
The length of the partnership will continue for as long as the food bank needs lentils, said Jeworski.
