Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is giving $1.5 million through its FCC AgriSpirit Fund to 86 community groups across Canada to support rural capital projects, including two in the East Kootenay.

Kimberley Helping Hands Food Bank Society is receiving $19,000 for the purchase a dehydrating system and create a workstation to increase the food bank’s capacity for food recovery.

And Wildsight Elk Valley is getting $18,000 for the creation of a hydroponic farm at the Community Eco Garden in Fernie and gain the ability to grow fresh food year-round to provide food to the community.

This year, the FCC AgriSpirit Fund awarded between $5,000 and $25,000 to various community improvement initiatives that enrich the lives of residents in cities, towns or Indigenous communities with fewer than 150,000 people.

“It’s amazing to realize the range of projects and organizations the FCC AgriSpirit Fund has been able to support over the last 20 years and the impact it has created,” said Jeff Affleck, FCC senior vice-president of Western operations. “We continue that legacy through great investments in our communities today.”

Over the past 20 years, the FCC AgriSpirit Fund has supported 1,615 projects, an investment of $21 million.

The next application period opens in the spring of 2024. Registered charities, non-profit groups, municipalities and First Nations, Métis or Inuit governments/communities interested in funding can visit www.fccagrispiritfund.ca for eligibility requirements, to apply online and view past projects.

FCC is Canada’s leading agriculture and food lender, dedicated to the industry that feeds the world. FCC employees are committed to the long-standing success of those who produce and process Canadian food by providing flexible financing, AgExpert business management software, information and knowledge.

The financial Crown corporation provides a complement of expertise and services designed to support the complex and evolving needs of food businesses.

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