Growing More Than a Garden: Niobe South Gives Back
By Canada Malting Co.What started with a few seeds and an idea has grown into more than 1,500 pounds of fresh produce for the local community.
About three years ago, Tim Pols, Elevator Supervisor at Canada Malting Co., and the team at the Niobe South grain elevator decided to start a garden. With everyone pitching in, they rototilled the soil, pulled weeds, planted seeds and waited to see what would grow.
It didn’t take long before the garden began producing more than the team could use. Rather than let the extra produce go to waste, they saw an opportunity to turn their harvest into something bigger by donating it to their local food bank.
That first year, the Niobe South team donated approximately 450 pounds of fresh produce.
The following year, they decided to raise the bar. With a little more experience and plenty of teamwork, the garden produced an impressive 1,009 pounds for the local food bank.
This year, the team was challenged to go even further, setting an ambitious goal of 1,500 pounds.
They didn’t just reach it. They surpassed it.
As of September 22, 2026, the Niobe South garden has donated 1,533 pounds of fresh produce to help people in the surrounding community.
“I couldn’t be happier with what we have been able to achieve and helping out our community along the way,” Tim said. “Thank you to all who have helped along the way!”
Growing Stronger Communities
For Canada Malting Co., being part of a community is about more than simply having a facility there. It’s about the people who live and work in those communities, the relationships we build and finding ways to give back.
The Niobe South garden is a great example. It started with employees seeing an opportunity and working together to make something happen. What began as a small garden has become an annual project that brings the team together while helping local families.
The garden also connects closely to what we do at CMC. Our business starts with agriculture and the people and communities connected to it. From the farmers who grow the grain to the teams who work with it every day, we know how much can come from the land and how important it is to make good use of what we grow.
In this case, the harvest isn’t headed to a malt house or a brewery. It’s going directly to the community and helping put fresh food on local tables.
In just three growing seasons, the Niobe South garden has provided nearly 3,000 pounds of fresh produce to the local food bank. What started as a simple idea has become an annual tradition of teamwork and giving back.
Sometimes, making a difference starts with something as simple as a patch of soil, a few seeds and a group of people willing to get their hands dirty. At Niobe South, that small idea has grown into something that is making a real difference in the community.
