PORTLAND, OR (DECEMBER 2022)- Columbia Grain International (CGI) understands the need for balanced nutrition and the reality that many underserved communities and people don’t have access to it. This holiday season, the CGI team is sharing the benefits of their recent expansion into the CPG category by donating pallets of their new healthy bean and pulses line, Balanced Bushel, to nourish those in need. They are donating thousands of bags of the high-quality, plant-based protein to nonprofit Feed the Children and food pantries across their corporate footprint to ensure that everyone gets a healthy meal during the holidays.
CGI’s in-kind contribution to Feed the Children includes 10,000 bags of assorted Balanced Bushel varieties that will be distributed to hungry families in the United States and around the world. CGI’s corporate footprint extends throughout Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota, and many of its facilities are busy distributing Balanced Bushel bags to their local food banks.
“The number of people visiting foods banks has increased to historic levels,” said President & CEO of Columbia Grain, Jeff Van Pevenage. “We’re honored to be in the position to donate healthy, plant-based protein to nourish our children, families and communities at a time of surging demand.”
CGI’s donation to Feed the Children will feed thousands of families this holiday season.
“At Feed the Children we envision a world in which no child goes to bed hungry,” said Feed the Children’s Manager of GIK Partnership, Terry Jones. “CGI’s donations allow us to further this goal, while bringing shelf-stable staples to those in need this holiday season.”
CGI’s facilities in Lind, WA, Grangeville, ID, Crystal and Valley City, ND, and Conrad, Chester, Great Falls, Chinook, and Harlem, MT, are also donating Balanced Bushel bean varieties, and other donations, to local food pantries and charities this December.
According to Camas Prairie Food Bank Director of Operations, Ken Lefsaker, CGI’s donation adds to one of the most common items the food pantry gives to the approximately 300 families it helps every month. “Dry beans form a big part of our distribution regarding protein,” said Lefsaker, “We give away a lot of beans as well as cooking directions and ideas for meals. Beans are a great way to stretch a dish and feed more.”
The Ritzville Food Pantry in Ritzville, WA, recently lost some of its sources of food deliveries, but donations from CGI’s location in Lind, WA, has filled in for those losses at a time when more people need food, according to the food bank’s director Carol Ewing.
“We appreciate new sources of food in this economy where food prices are increasing and donations are low,” she said. “We have seen an increase in the number of families seeking food this fall.”
Through donations to its local community and partnering with Feed the Children, CGI furthers its mission to nourish the world, safely.
