Pre-Easter Sunday services at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach have been alive with the sounds of children's giggles and the jingling of coins. Associate pastor Kyle Penner says, during Lent, they have been doing a special project where children are raising money for a Canadian FoodGrains Bank program.

"Every Sunday, we give the little children in our church little buckets. They run around the church aisles and pews, collecting coins. All of the money is going to MCC's Grow Hope campaign where we are sponsoring some acres on a farm near Niverville. The farmer grows the food and then, through the Canada FoodGrains Bank and the government matching it, we're hoping then to help provide MCC with a lot of money to help address hunger around the world."

The federal government matches FoodGrains Bank donations 4 to 1. Penner says the children hope to raise about $1,500 towards the Niverville Grow Hope project which will multiply considerably under the matching program. He explains the children are learning a number of lessons in the process.

"We're hoping that they learn to be generous at a very young age. We also want them to know that their lives matter, that they can make a difference in the world. We also like to expose them to the good work that MCC is doing. We are also hoping to bring them to the farm later on in the summer so we can show them where their money goes and they can get a hands-on feel for how this whole process works."

Penner adds, based on personal experience, the lessons are sticking.

"My kids are 6 and 4 and we've had some good conversations about food security and who has access to food and how we can play a role in that. That's been just delightful for us, to see our kids grapple with what some of the global issues of hunger mean and how that can translate to them at their small level."

Penner notes the weekly coin collection time has also generated a lot of positive energy during services.