TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA — Ag Growth International (AGI) has collaborated with Mohawk Medbuy Corp. and St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation to buy and deliver emergency medical equipment and supplies to the Ukrainian people.

“With our employees on the ground in Ukraine and our valued AGI customer, Kernel Grain Co. (Kernel), we are in a unique position to procure emergency medical supplies, arrange transport from Canada to Poland, and then make them directly available to the people in Ukraine through our on-the-ground employees, resources, and customer logistics,” said Tim Close, president and chief executive officer of AGI.

AGI has donated $200,000 and launched #StepUp4Ukraine, a fundraising effort and voluntary donation link for the United States and Canada. Every dollar raised will be used to purchase priority medical supplies.

To facilitate this initiative, the group is working with the St. Michael's Foundation, a publicly registered charity, to receive and process all donations.

“Being a part of this collaboration is a natural extension of our mission and values and a way for us to help those in need,” said Lili Litwin, president and CEO, St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.

MMC, a not-for-profit procurement expert that supports government health care purchasing, will work with its vendor network to source and secure the medical supplies most needed in Ukraine including tourniquets, bandages, gauze, oxygen masks and first aid kits.

“We are honored to participate and use our proven abilities to source supplies that address Ukraine’s urgent medical crisis,” said Tony DiEmanuele, president and CEO of MMC. “Together, we can swiftly and effectively procure supplies and leverage transportation channels to deliver as much relief as possible.”

With historic relationships across Ukraine’s grain and ag sector and its in-country employees, AGI and Kernel will leverage their local logistics and delivery capability to act quickly.

“Since the beginning of war in Ukraine, Kernel has been actively supporting medical institutions as well as local towns that suffered from shelling and missile attacks,” said Mykola Miroshnichenko, Kernel-trade director manager. “We seek to use our logistical resources in the most efficient way possible to deliver humanitarian goods and prevent food security crisis in Ukraine. We appeal to our partners to join us in providing necessary aid. Together we can procure medical supplies, equipment, and food as quickly as possible. This would be our common contribution in saving thousands of lives, our common step towards peace.”

Close added, “From farmers to processors, the global agricultural community is a family with a strong legacy of nurturing those in need. This is an urgent call to action for participation on any level. No donation is too small. The medical supply need is great, and time is of the essence.”