Last Updated: Monday, March 17, 2008

Mercy Corps, Wal-Mart give farmers a market

The Oregonian
March 6, 2008

Talk about odd couples: Mercy Corps, Portland’s homegrown international humanitarian organization, is teaming with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest corporation, in a venture that both insist will help poor Guatemalan farmers.

The pilot project, announced Wednesday in Guatemala City, has caused misgivings among some staff members at Mercy Corps, a rapidly expanding nonprofit that is developing new models of corporate collaboration. Under the $2.2 million program supported in part by Wal-Mart’s charitable foundation, Mercy Corps is helping small-scale farmers learn to supply fruit and vegetables to the retail goliath.

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