Agriculture committee  What you just described is exactly it.

Agriculture committee  There are three in Ontario. Two just started up this year.

Agriculture committee  My understanding is that a number of provinces have similar legislation. Alberta certainly does, and to the best of my knowledge B.C. and Ontario have something similar. I may not be correct on that one, but I do know that Alberta has similar legislation for that very reason.

Agriculture committee  No, it doesn't. I'm speaking on behalf of all the gleaners across Canada. We ourselves have sent to 26 different countries since we've been in operation.

Agriculture committee  In our area, there's a large greenhouse growing industry: tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. A lot of culls come from that industry. There's a huge acreage of potatoes, a sweet corn industry from the Taber area, and large acreages of onions and many other field crops. We have one

Agriculture committee  It is.

Agriculture committee  That's correct. I've received numerous photos of locations where it's been distributed. It's always gratifying to our volunteers. That's really the only reward they ask for, to see where it goes.

Agriculture committee  We average 20 a day. Over the course of a year, well over a 1,000 individuals come out, many of them on a regular basis and some only once.

Agriculture committee  If I narrow it down to a serving, it's between three and a half to five cents, depending on the price of natural gas. Natural gas and electricity are our biggest operating costs, so it depends on the fluctuation of those rates.

Agriculture committee  Charitable organizations that are in the business of providing food aid in other countries, particularly after some major disaster, receive it right from our door. From our door they're responsible for the shipping costs to wherever it goes in the world. We do not charge them for

Agriculture committee  That's right. That was our first major shipment once we were operational five years ago.

Agriculture committee  We want to ensure that we have the widest variety of vegetables. As you know, everything comes in at different times of the year. Root crops come out of storage throughout the winter months and the fall crops come out of the fields. The greenhouse industry supplies us pretty much

Agriculture committee  Good afternoon.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Chairman, and members of the standing committee. I'm speaking to you on behalf of all the gleaners organizations across Canada. There are currently seven of us doing essentially the same work. There are three in British Columbia, one in Alber