The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given its latest round of grants to support food ministries at four Church of the Brethren congregations in Illinois and Ohio; the Beyond Abundance Program of Phahama Grain Phakama in South Africa; and the purchase of electric mills for indigenous Amazon communities to grind cassava, via the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela.
Bill and Penny Gay of Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren in Decatur, Ind., have been volunteering in various locations in Alaska for many summers. Their work centers on community gardening and efforts to reduce food insecurity. The projects in Alaska have received support through grants from the Global Food Initiative. Here is an update on their continuing work
The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given its first round of grants for 2024, supporting an aquaculture project in the Dominican Republic, a grain mill project in Burundi, a maize mill project in Uganda, and Syntropic training in Haiti. Two grants made in 2023 have not previously been reported in Newsline, for a school-based organic food production and environmental awareness effort in Ecuador, and to First Church of the Brethren, Eden, N.C., for its community garden.
The Growing Hope Globally project in northern Virginia includes five Church of the Brethren congregations that are working with the organization to grow crops on 10 acres of farm property in Midland, Va., and then donate the income from the sale of the crops to food security and hunger relief.
Jeff Boshart has resigned as manager of the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) effective Dec. 29. He has held the position, which includes managing the GFI fund as well as the Emerging Global Mission Fund, for more than 11 years, since March 2012.
Grants from the Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) are supporting food distribution to the Hispanic community in Lancaster, Pa., agriculture micro-projects by the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela, a community garden project of the Church of the Brethren in Spain, and sustainable agriculture education in Burundi.
The Global Food Initiative (GFI) of the Church of the Brethren has given a number of grants in recent weeks, in order to support a Soybean Value Chain project in Nigeria, a church-based community gardening effort in Ecuador, a work-study opportunity in Ecuador for trainees from Venezuela, a vegetable production workshop in Uganda, and a community garden in North Carolina.
The Global Food Initiative (GFI), a Church of the Brethren fund, has made several grants in these first months of 2022. Funds are supporting agricultural efforts of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) and La Fundación Brethren y Unida (FBU-the United and Brethren Foundation), a training workshop related to THARS (Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Services) in Burundi and Eglise des Freres au Congo (the Church of the Brethren in the Democratic Republic of Congo or DRC), and a number of church-related community gardens.
has been tending to their community garden for about five years now, thanks to the original initiative of former pastor Belita Mitchell. The current garden coordinator, Waneta Benson, cites this year as the best year yet!
The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given grants to support transition of an agriculture program of Eglise des Freres d’Haiti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti) to a self-sustaining ministry. Also among recent grants are allocations in support of a community garden of Grace Way Community Church of the Brethren in Dundalk, Md., and a food distribution program of the Alpha and Omega Community Center in Lancaster, Pa.
