The recent Make a Difference Sale in Abbotsford raised a record $430,000 for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to support food security in Africa.
The sale ran as an online silent auction from March 9 to 12 after previously running in person for several years at Abby Stock Yard on McClary Avenue. The event moved online in 2021 during the pandemic and has continued in that format.
This year’s event also included a luncheon on March 13 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre, where a live auction was held.
Rob Brandsma, one of the event organizers, said it was “truly amazing to see the generosity of the farming and business community” in supporting the auction.
“Many factors contributed to our record total this year,” he said.
“We received many donated auction-ready items that went through our four-day online silent auction as well as our in-person luncheon and live auction. Cattle were generously donated and auctioned through Abby Stock Yard, and many donations made by cheque. We even had a restored Massey Ferguson Tractor donated that sold for $11,500.”
Brandsma thanked all the volunteers and donors who helped make the event a success.
Money raised this year goes to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s Nature+ program, which will provide tools and knowledge to create long-term sustainable agriculture to 75,000 small-scale farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
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