Film Screening: We Lend a Hand

The Ontario Farm Service Force, first initiated during the
First World War and reactivated in 1939, played a critical role in the success
of the Allied forces in both conflicts. Sometimes referred to as the “Land
Army,” the true—and long overlooked—story of the Ontario Farm Service Force is
only now receiving the recognition it deserves.

The film We Lend A Hand is based on the 2019 book Onion
Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes, co-authored by
Bonnie Sitter and Farmerette Shirleyan English. It tells the true stories of
teenage girls who left home to work on farms during the Second World War,
responding to the severe labour shortages caused by the conflict.

Known as the Farmerettes, these young women numbered more
than 40,000. Between 1941 and 1952, they arrived from across Ontario, Quebec,
and even the southern United States to work on Ontario farms. Their labour
ensured critical food production during one of the most perilous periods of
modern history and, in doing so, made a vital contribution to the Allied victory.