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Abbotsford family cycles across Canada for Foodgrains Bank

Schmidt family scheduled to complete 6,000-kilometre journey on Aug. 12
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The Schmidt family of Abbotsford is nearing the end of their 6,000-kilometre cross-Canada cycling trip to raise money for Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

An Abbotsford family has been cycling across Canada to raise money for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFB).

The Schmidt family set out June 8 from Abbotsford and is scheduled to complete their 6,000-kilometre “Cycling Canada Together Tour” on Monday, Aug. 12 in Nova Scotia.

Dad Orlando has been cycling with his children Raquel, Jayden and Nathan and son-in-law Caleb. His wife Vivian and daughter-in-law Kaitlyn have been driving alongside with supplies and equipment.

The family first started talking about doing a family cycling trip when the youngest, Nathan, was out of high school, and they’ve been planning it for about 10 years.

They chose to raise money for the Foodgrains Bank because Orlando said he has had a strong interest in caring for the needs of hungry people since the 1980s.

“As a young adult, I was deeply touched by media coverage of the famine in Ethiopia and decided to pursue a career in agriculture as a result,” he said on the CFB website.

The Schmidt family continued to serve in the 1990s, living and volunteering in Brazil with Mennonite Central Committee agriculture and education programs.

They have a goal of raising $60,000 through their cycling trip to help CFB addresses global hunger issues.

The family also hopes to encourage Canadians to learn more about the issues around global hunger through the I Care campaign and signing postcards.

Visit foodgrainsbank.ca/cycling to make a donation or to follow the family’s journey.

RELATED: Make a Difference auction raises $269,000 for Foodgrains Bank

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(From left) Nathan, Caleb, Raquel and Orlando make a stop during their cross-Canada cycling trip to raise money for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.