Farm Journal Foundation Accelerates Sustainable Hunger Solutions Through $1 Million Grant to Heifer International

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Farm Journal Foundation announced its Farmers Feeding the World campaign's largest single commitment to date, with a $1 million grant to Heifer International. 

Through the Farm Journal Foundation's commitment to Heifer, the organizations will identify communities in both the U.S. and developing countries that would significantly benefit from the gift of livestock, as well as training in animal husbandry and basic smallholder farming practices. The grant will be targeted to sustainable hunger relief projects such as Heifer's Seeds of Change in Appalachia and the Arkansas Delta, REACH (Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti), Integrated Livestock Development in Sierra Leone, and the Small Farmer Project for smallholder agriculture development in Armenia.

"It's been a very exciting and rewarding first year for Farmers Feeding the World because of the ability to learn from and work with organizations like Heifer that are committed to solving world hunger through sustainable agricultural practices," said Foundation Chairman Andy Weber. "Heifer is one of the most effective and efficient NGOs in the world in the fight against hunger and is totally in sync with our mission to rally American farmers and ranchers to help solve world hunger."

There are approximately one billion people living in chronic hunger today and, sadly, many of those are small farmers in the developing world. The partnership between Farmers Feeding the World and Heifer International will enable thousands of families to permanently pull themselves out of poverty and chronic hunger both globally and here in the United States.

"We are grateful for the support we receive from the Farm Journal Foundation, and we are very excited by the chance to work with American farmers, who realize the benefits of working at a greater scale and efficiency to boost agricultural production. Working together, we can help smallholder farm families increase their production capacity so that they can truly help feed the world," said Pierre Ferrari, president and CEO of Heifer International.

About the Farm Journal Foundation
The Farm Journal Foundation is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to sustaining U.S. agriculture's ability to serve the vital needs of a growing world population with education and assistance focused on the unique interests of people and organizations aligned with U.S. agriculture. The Foundation houses Farm Journal's myriad advocacy initiatives such as the Farmers Feeding the World campaign and elements of the Farm Journal Legacy Project. For more information, please visit www.FarmersFeedingTheWorld.org.

About Heifer International
Heifer's mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 40 countries, including the U.S., to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit www.heifer.org or call (800) 696-1918.

For more information contact:
Brian Harvey Hogue
Phone: 319.883.0498
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Farm Journal Foundation