Farm & Ranch Guide: North Dakota's Ag Newspaper

Those taking part in the loading activities to donate food grad soybeans to Guatemala included: (l to r) Pat Bresnahan, Scott Sinner, Bob Sinner, Todd Sinner, Rick Norton, Jeremy Sinner and Jon Ryan.

CASSELTON, N.D. - Red River Valley soybean growers helped thousands of hungry Guatemalan children on Sept. 27, when 20.4 metric tons or about 750 bushels of donated food grade, identity preserved soybeans were loaded for the trip to the Central American country.

Eight member companies of the Northern Food Grade Soybean Assoc-iation donated an equal amount of bagged product, which was collected and loaded into an intermodal container at SB & B Foods in Casselton.

The soybeans will now travel over 2,300 miles in about two weeks time, before reaching a World Soy Foundation project that's in partnership with the Guatemala City Metropoli Rotary Club. That partnership has installed soymilk machines or “SoyCows” at a few locations in Guatemala.

The hunger relief project will utilize Soy-Cows, which is a processing system that can grind and cook whole soybeans and process it into soymilk to make beverages, soya ‘cheese' (tofu), yogurt and other soyfoods.

The SoyCow can process about four pounds of raw soybeans into four gallons of nutritious soymilk in about 20 minutes.

According to Bob Sinner, a partner in SB & B Foods, the amount that was shipped to Guatemala will produce about 45,000 gallons, or 350,000 pints of soymilk.

“It is estimated that one SoyCow will use about 72 metric tons in a year,” Sinner noted. “So if you put it in that context, this container of soybeans that we are shipping will keep one machine going for three to four months.”

“We applaud the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association for making it possible for locally grown soybeans to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people for whom hunger is a part of their daily life,” Jared Hagert said in a North Dakota Soybean Council news release. Hagert farms near Emerado, N.D., and is a member of the North Dakota Soybean Council board of directors.

The World Soy Foundation is a charitable organization that works with private voluntary and non-governmental organizations to deliver soy protein and nutrition education to people who need it around the world.

“The World Soy Foundation deeply appreciates the rapid response that the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association showed when we identified this opportunity to do so much good in Guatemala,” said World Soy Foundation board member Barb Overlie, a soybean grower from Lake Crystal, Minn. “This donation not only helps meet the needs in fighting hunger, but it creates local business opportunities with the SoyCows.”

Members of the Rotary Club in Guatemala City are anxious to receive this first shipment of soybeans so they can begin using the SoyCows. It is estimated that chronic malnutrition affects 50 percent of Guatemalan children under 5 years of age, which is the highest level in Latin America and is said to be increasing.

Those firms taking part in the donation effort included: Brushvale Seed, Inc., Breckenridge, Minn; Peterson Farms Seeds, Harwood, N.D.; Richland Organics, Breckenridge, Minn.; Red River Valley Seed Company, Hillsboro, N.D.; SK Foods International, Fargo; SunOpta Grains and Food Group, Moorhead, Minn.; Unity Seed, Casselton; and SB & B Foods, Inc., Casselton.

Additional contributions toward the project came from Trailer Transfer Trucking that provided reduced rates on trucking freight, and Zim Shipping that provided the ocean shipping at lower than normal rates. Finally, NorthStar Packaging contributed the packing material needed for shipping.

“Our members chose to donate to this worthwhile cause to show our commitment to the food industry globally,” explained Todd Sinner, sales manager at SB & B. “Many, many people worldwide do not have the financial ability to obtain a quality food source, so this project was our way to try and make a difference in some people's lives.

“U.S. northern region soybeans are already recognized as the world's finest in food-grade quality,” he continued. “The Northern Food Grade Soybean Association united the specialized soybean industry to maintain and enhance product quality.”

World Soy Foundation officials say more donations like this are needed to help these micro enterprises get started and become sustainable. They also noted that other organizations in Guatemala have expressed an interest in joining the program and obtaining SoyCows.

Comments »

willima coker wrote on Mar 29, 2008 4:35 AM:

" hi,
we are into soybean farming and we are sourcing for buyers all over the world, we will like to link up with your company for more details.
Thanks,
William. "

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