2023 Millersburg Food Run a success for local charity
This year’s Millersburg Food Run raised $6,800 for the Love Center Food Pantry. Pictured are Love Center Directors Polly and Edgar Raber, left, race committee members Jim and Joanne Morrison, and Race Director Eva Durbin.
The Millersburg Food Run held July 30 was another successful fundraiser for the Love Center Food Pantry.
Since 2018 the Millersburg Food Run has held a charity foot race from Hipp Station (except in 2020) to address food insecurities in Holmes County. This year’s race raised $6,800 — the largest donation since the race started.
“It’s wonderful to see how the race grows a little every year (with) more runners and more business donors,” said Eva Durbin, race director. “We’d like to see the momentum build so we can continue to support the important mission of the Love Center Food Pantry.”
The Millersburg Food Run is hosted by the Millersburg Seventh-day Adventist Church with the proceeds of the race going to the Love Center Food Pantry for its operation and food-purchasing expenses. Previously, the race was held the first Sunday in August, but scheduling conflicts with setup for fair week led organizers to change the race day to the last Sunday in July. The race had its highest turnout since it started and will continue to be held on the last Sunday in July for the foreseeable future.
Edgar and Polly Raber, directors of the Love Center Food Pantry, appreciate donations of any size to help support this ministry.
“The need has increased 20% compared to last year, and compared to prepandemic volumes, it’s up 30%,” Edgar Raber said. “Food just costs more these days.”
There also is an addition in who is visiting the Love Center. There are now some refugee and other immigrant families utilizing the Love Center Food Pantry.
Many of these families are being sponsored by local congregations. The volunteers at the food pantry are using language translators to help their new customers understand the process and get the food they need. This is a real reminder of how global events can impact people in Holmes County.
Year to date the Love Center has distributed 450,000 pounds of food to 750 individual families (150 families are first-time recipients). The Love Center is able to purchase food from the Akron Food Bank for an average of 10 cents per pound.
The Akron Food Bank itself has seen an increased need of 30% from all the organizations served (across seven counties). Many organizations depend on the Akron Food Bank including food pantries, soup kitchens, food backpacks for children and more.
One of the Akron Food Bank’s goals is to be able to continue supplying food at low cost to these organizations; however, inflation and supply are always a concern for future availability.
“That’s why donations from fundraisers like the Millersburg Food Run are so valuable,” Polly Raber said. “It allows us to purchase large volumes when it is available and store the food for future use. We are blessed to have a large storage space. Most food pantries don’t have as much room as we do.”
The race wouldn’t be the successful fundraiser it has become without the partnership of many area businesses contributing financially. This year’s financial donors were Bentwood Solutions LLC, Berlin Village Inn, Boyd & Wurthmann Restaurant, Denco Marketing Co., Dr. Brad Welsh Dentistry & Associates, Dutch Craft Furniture, Dutchman Hospitality Group Inc., East of Chicago Pizza, Guggisberg Cheese Inc., Holmes Tire LLC, Keim, Killbuck Savings Bank Co., Killbuck Thrift Store, Miller, Mast & Mason LTD, Old World Polish Pottery, Pomerene Hospital, Rozuk Radiology, WKLM Radio, Wolf Creek Veterinary Services, and Wooster Orthopaedic.
Businesses contributed in other ways as well. Subway donated gift cards for the participant prizes while some businesses donated gift baskets for the participant gift basket giveaway. Other businesses donated items for the refreshment table or for the participant’s goodie basket. Each contribution helped make the race a success for the participants and Love Center Food Pantry.
If interested in supporting the Love Center Food Pantry, visit https://lovecenterholmescounty.org/.