Harvest for Hunger event serves up success for Holmes County families

Sponsored by Holmes County Farm Bureau, the 2025 Harvest for Hunger continues to provide for all of Holmes County’s food pantries while also educating the public on the importance of agriculture in the area.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Harvest for Hunger hosted its ninth annual event at The Farm in Walnut Creek, where patrons eager to help provide funding for food for area pantries were treated to an evening of dining, fellowship and entertainment for the whole family.

From wagon rides featuring all the exotic animals to kids activities, a pumpkin slingshot, homemade kettle corn and ice cream, a full meal, an auction, and live music, the event proved to be a winning formula.

However, the biggest winners were the families who utilize the services of the food pantries.

“This event is a twofold mission,” Holmes County Farm Bureau President Eric Shaver said. “The first is to raise funds for the food banks; the second is to raise awareness of the food insecurity in Holmes County.”

While many may picture the peaceful, idyllic surroundings of Holmes County as an area where there is little need, Shaver said there are many families who are temporarily unemployed, facing hardships, living below poverty standards and struggling to make ends meet.

“Sometimes circumstances arise for families that make it difficult to put food on the table,” Shaver said.

He said when this program first began, they invited people to join them at a homestead for a higher-priced evening meal, but attendance was low.

Board member Freeman Raber challenged them to turn it into an event that mirrored what Holmes County represents, so they made a by-donation event that invited the public to a picnic-style evening that was more family-friendly.

Suddenly, the attendance took a giant leap forward, and the donations rose just as quickly. With this year’s event, Harvest for Hunger has now raised more than $110,000 for the four area food pantries.

The Holmes County Farm Bureau began as a grassroots political organization called Community Councils, a group of farm neighbors gathering once a month to discuss key agendas and offer their opinions on farming.

It then became the Farm Bureau, which Shaver said is the most trusted organization of politicians seeking to learn more about the needs of the local agriculture community.

Issues like how high to place power lines and widening roads for safe travel for increasingly large farm implements are examples of some of the issues brought to politicians. Shaver said roundabouts are now a hot topic.

Now with over 400 members countywide, HCFB conducts this event as its annual meeting.

“This is a way for farmers to give back to the community,” Shaver said.

The event has met with so much success that it was submitted for a County of Excellence Award last year. It would go on to win a national honor, with four members invited to share at the national Farm Bureau event in San Antonio, Texas, where they were able to explain at their booth how this unique event came to be and how it has blessed the county.

“The reason we won is that we changed our style of how we presented this event to better meet the demographics of our community,” Shaver said.

He said early on attendance came mainly from the west side of the county, with little representation from the Plain People in the east.

With the change in venue and style, the event grew from less than 40 attendees to more than 200.

Once in Texas, the members made a big impact with many other national Farm Bureau leaders stopping by. However, it was two leaders in particular that excited Shaver and his partners.

Both of the leaders who stopped by who had the biggest impact were groups struggling to get attendance, and both groups were living next to communities with different demographics.

“One was Seminole Indians in Florida; the other was a Navajo Reservation in Utah,” Shaver said. “Both have tremendous need, and they are both supported by area food banks, but they couldn’t get the demographics to match.”

Both leaders left the meeting with renewed excitement, having learned from Holmes County’s effort.

According to Kayla Jones, organization director with the Ohio Farm Bureau serving Holmes, Coshocton, Knox and Licking counties, this event is one that encompasses all the great things about Holmes County including the gift of working together for a cause.

“This 100% sums up this community,” Jones said. “The support that comes from people across the board is something you rarely see in other areas. I know what to expect, and it still always blows me away.”

She said creating an opportunity for families to visit creates a chance for youngsters to gain insight as to the commitment and value of helping others in the community.

The donations for all the pantries run through Holmes County Love Center Food Pantry, which then divvies the donations to the other food pantries according to the populations they serve.

The two keynote speakers on the evening were Shaver, who took a look back at the history of the event, and Edgar Raber, executive director of the Love Center Food Pantry, who talked about the important role this event plays in meeting a major need in the county.