Allamakee County Corner of Hope Growing Project raises record $48,100

Allamakee County’s Corner of Hope (COH) Growing Project completed another successful year with a record amount of funds raised, $48,100. That locally raised total reflects the combined efforts of receipts from harvesting and selling crops of corn, soybeans and hay from six different plots across the county, along with generous contributions from churches, banks, agri-businesses, and individuals, and many contributions of products and services to help plant, grow and harvest the crops.

This year’s amount has been remitted to Foods Resource Bank (FRB), “…a global, grassroots community dedicated to ending word hunger… one garden, one field, one village at a time.” FRB is comprised of 15 Christian church agencies and the projects chosen to be funded by FRB are administered by those agencies. They are aimed at helping local farmers in the most impoverished areas of the world become self-sufficient in food production.
As in the first six years of the COH Project, monies from this local initiative are to be divided equally between projects administered by Church World Service, Catholic Relief Services, and Lutheran World Relief, reflecting the ecumenical involvement and spirit of the Corner of Hope.
Over the past seven years, the COH Growing Project has raised more than $198,000, all dedicated to helping the most hungry of the world to feed themselves. “This amazing response is an appropriate recognition that we have been blessed beyond measure to live and farm in the most productive region on the face of the earth,” remarked the COH Coordinating Committee, with representatives from a cross-section of churches in Allamakee County. The Committee further feels an obligation to share that blessing.

The annual Harvest Celebration Dinner was held November 15, 2011 at Zion United Church of Christ. Supporters enjoyed a bountiful potluck and reports were given on the year’s success. Landowners who contributed to the 2011 project include Jerry, Joe and Jan Sweeney; Willard and Arlene Kerndt and renter Gary Welsh; Dennis and Judy Byrnes; Arlyn (Butch) and Kevin Fossum; Larry and Nancy Straate; and St. Patrick Catholic Church of Waukon (owner of Mt. Olivet plot). The committee recognizes it is their generosity and support, as well as the contributions made by everyone who helped with the 2011 Corner of Hope project, that made this year’s project an enormous success.