About the Film
1940. It is a time of national emergency. Hitler’s army threatens to invade Britain.
German U-Boats destroy thousands of tons of supplies, giving way to food shortages. The Old World seeks help from the New.
We Lend a Hand: The Forgotten Story of the Ontario Farmerettes is a 49-min documentary which reveals the true and forgotten story of the Ontario Farm Service Force. It put 40,000 volunteer teenage girls to work between 1941 and 1952, arriving from different parts of Ontario and Quebec to many locations in Southwestern Ontario. They were called The Farmerettes. Their job: to ensure critical food production during the most perilous period of modern history.
With no prior farming experience, their hardships were tremendous. For long months, they worked under relentless weather conditions and schedules. Yet they single-handedly managed to produce hundreds of thousands of tons of food that were shipped off to the frontlines to feed starving European populations and even prisoners of war.
Through reenactments and unique archival images, We Lend a Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes recounts the story of these magnificent young women, now in their late 90s, bringing back their most cherished memories while reminding us – perhaps for the last time – that service comes in many forms.
