St. Joseph, Mich. – LECO Corporation, a global manufacturer of laboratory instrumentation, has announced a partnership with the non-profit organization Convoy of Hope to support their agriculture and growing program.

Under the partnership, LECO will donate two of its analytical instruments—a CN828 Carbon/Nitrogen determinator and a TGM800 Thermogravimetric Moisture instrument—to Convoy’s soon-to-be-constructed Center of Agriculture Science and Food Security. The Center will be a dedicated space to teach, train, and educate program participants on agriculture science for the purpose of providing sustainable food sources for impoverished communities. The space will include a 25,000 sq ft greenhouse, barns, orchards, and 30 acres for growing. The LECO instruments will be used in the Center’s Agriculture Science laboratory, where researchers will evaluate soil and other ground materials to determine optimal growing environments.

Convoy of Hope’s Agriculture program provides tools and training to those faced with a lack of consistent access to healthy food. The goal of the program is to teach production methods that encourage long-term sustainable practices. This includes training families to grow and harvest their own food as a means of providing year-round nutrition.

“LECO and their employees have been strong supporters of Convoy of Hope for many years through the support of various disaster relief projects”, says Dr. Jason Streubel, Senior Advisor for Science and Food Security. “As a scientist who’s had the opportunity to work with LECO products, I am thrilled we are able to come together and make a difference for families around the world struggling with food insecurity.”

In return for the instrument donation, Streubel and his colleagues will present their application findings after working with LECO equipment.

“Since 1936, LECO has been empowering laboratories around the world with the tools needed to validate for quality and safety in materials that impact our everyday needs,” says Mason

Marsh, LECO Product Line Manager. “We are excited to be a part of a project that empowers families to create a sustainable growing environment that ensures they always have access to the proper nutrition to support a healthy lifestyle.”

About Convoy of Hope

Convoy of Hope is a faith-based organization with a driving passion to feed the world. With a long history as an early responder in times of natural disasters, Convoy of Hope has been a Four Star Charity as recognized by Charity Navigator since 2002. Convoy of Hope has served more than 193 million people since it was founded in 1994. For more information, please visit convoyofhope.org.

About LECO Corporation

Headquartered in St. Joseph, Michigan, USA, LECO designs and manufactures instruments for elemental analysis, gas chromatography, spectrometry, hardness testing, and optical analysis, serving customers in the food, energy, agriculture, and materials industries. The company has over 25 international offices with additional distributors authorized to sell or service LECO products throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Canada. Past projects LECO has worked with Convoy of Hope on include donations for hurricane relief, creation of baby care kits, and hygiene kits.