The Beacon

FREMONT, Ohio - Through Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s (OFBF) new county-based “Farmers Feed Our Needs” campaign, farmers throughout the Buckeye State are combining with partners to help provide hungry and less fortunate Ohioans with safe, abundant and healthy food.
Last week, a cooperative effort between Ohio Farm Bureau and the Sandusky County Farm Bureau brought together more than 60 volunteers to hand-harvest more than 150,000 pounds of cabbage to feed the hungry throughout the state.

A sauerkraut plant to which the cabbage was originally destined had reached its quota for the year. With no place to go and a killing freeze imminent, the Sandusky County Farm Bureau jumped into action.

“Farmers care about other people, not just about their pocketbook,” said Sandusky County cabbage farmer Daryl Knipp, owner of the 16-acre plot that would’ve otherwise been plowed under if not for the efforts of the Farm Bureau.

In a matter of days, dozens of volunteers from local agribusiness, other county Farm Bureaus and high school FFA chapters had committed to hand-harvesting, loading and transporting the crop to be donated to the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) throughout the entire state.

“The response to this was tremendous,” said Allen Gahler, organization director for Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood County Farm Bureaus. “Farmers and people who live the rural lifestyle really embrace this kind of thing and they like to reach out to their community.”

In all, 112 bins of cabbage at an estimated retail price of $85,904 were donated to Second Harvest - enough to produce 121,875 meals. An additional eight bins were also harvested to be provided to Toledo-area foodbanks as needed, bringing the total retail value of harvested cabbage to around $90,000.

With Ohio foodbanks facing unprecedented demand, the massive donation - completed just in time for the holiday season - was well-appreciated. “This gift from the Farm Bureau and Ohio’s cabbage farmers is an extraordinary opportunity for our foodbanks and pantries to make a difference when several of our clients are struggling to keep food on their tables,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, OASHF executive director. “The availability of high-quality, nutritious meals now, or at any time of year, is critically important for families in our community.”

“Having food on the table should be an expectation, not a luxury, for Ohio’s families,” said Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Jack Fisher. “Our farmers are honored and humbled to help some Ohioans in need.”