Washington County Harvest of Hope

06/10/2026

Karen Kumpf, the Founder of Washington County Harvest of Hope, passed away on June 9. We extend our condolences to her family as we remember Karen as the vibrant force behind the vision and the creation of our organization. Karen recognized the connection between food going to waste in our county and the needs of food pantries, community meal sites, and the many who are food insecure. Rather than just talk about this need, Karen did something about it and led congregants from Christ United Methodist Church to start Harvest of Hope 20 years ago. She also guided the creation of community gardens providing locations for families to grow their own nutritious vegetables and beautiful flowers. Karen served as our Executive Director for 10 years before retiring from that position in 2016. We can truly say that Harvest of Hope would not exist today without her vision, dedication, and hard work.

Thank you, Karen!

Here is a link to Karen's obituary.

https://www.cawleyandpeoples.com/obituaries/karen-kumpf

06/04/2026

Harvest of Hope welcomed Washington State College of Ohio President Sarah Parker as our latest VIP Volunteer for a Day on June 3. Sarah joined HoH Board President Mark Nutter for a route that included deliveries to WSCO, Hopewell Health, Salvation Army, and Belpre Area ministries. Sarah is a strong supporter of efforts to serve those who are food insecure. While President at WSCO, Sarah and staff at the college have worked with Peoples Bank and other agencies to develop and open the Peoples Bank Foundation Student Market. Harvest of Hope delivers weekly to the Student Market, and we are very pleased to partner with WSCO on efforts to recover and distribute food to those who need it.Thank you Dr. Parker and all of the WSCO staff who have been participating in our Volunteer for a Day program!

06/02/2026

We thank Washington State College of Ohio for their continued strong support for Harvest of Hope! Two VIP Volunteers for a Day helped with food collection and deliveries the week of May 25th. On Wednesday, WSCO staff member Abbey Turner assisted HoH volunteer Darryl Ting to deliver food to the WSCO Food Pantry, Marietta Church of God, and the Salvation Army. Abbey is a College Pathway Advisor at WSCO, and she works with high school students who are taking college classes through the College Credit Plus program. She also advises and assists students who have already graduated from high school. Abbey is interested in being more involved in the community, and she said that helping on the HoH van helped her see the interconnectedness of the agencies and services making lives better in Washington County. Kristin English assisted HoH volunteer Allan Beaver on Friday. The two made deliveries in Marietta to the Salvation Army, the Lighthouse Center, and the Life and Purpose Community Resource Center. Kristin serves WSCO as the Director of Educational Technology and Instructional Design. She has primary responsibility for the online learning program at the college and also works with designing instruction for face-to-face classes. Kristin enjoyed learning first-hand what HoH does in our community, and she was surprised to see the number of businesses that step up to donate food for those in need. Thank you Abbey and Kristin!

05/24/2026

On May 22, Harvest of Hope welcomed Jason Halbleib, our most recent VIP Volunteer for a Day. Jason works at Washington State College of Ohio where he serves as Assistant Director of Upward Bound and works together with the with the Educational Talent Search program. Both of these federally funded TRIO grant programs help students make the transition to higher education. Jason enjoys helping students develop skills that can lead to success in college and beyond. He also enjoyed helping out on the HoH van and meeting people in our county who are helping those who are food insecure. He plans to share those stories of public service back with the students he serves. Thanks Jason, and thanks WSCO for enabling Jason to spend part of his day with us.

05/14/2026

05/07/2026

Harvest of Hope has begun a new program we call VIP Volunteer for a Day. We realize that not everyone who wants to volunteer can dedicate time each month to be a helper on our food rescue van. So, we are reaching out to individuals and organizations to find volunteers for a day. These volunteers are Very Important Persons for Harvest of Hope because they are helping us accomplish our mission to provide food for those who are food-insecure in our county.

Washington State College of Ohio stepped up in a big way with this initiative, and 18 employees volunteered to be part of the program. WSCO is one of our delivery locations, and they are very engaged with serving their student population through their on-campus food pantry. We appreciate their dedication and willingness to allow employees an opportunity to serve as Harvest of Hope VIP Volunteers for a Day.

On Wednesday, May 6, Michelle Long became our first VIP Volunteer. Michele has been at WSCO for over five years. She works with two TRIO programs, Upward Bound and Talent Search, and spends much of her time in the local schools helping students find a successful path to college and beyond. Michelle wanted to be a volunteer for a day because she just likes volunteering whenever she can.

Michelle and Dave Miller, a HoH Board member and regular volunteer driver, picked up food at Giant Eagle and Walmart and then delivered to the WSCO Food Pantry, the Salvation Army, and Hopewell Health.

Thank you, Michelle, for being our first VIP Volunteer for a Day!

04/18/2026

Yesterday, we delivered a donation to Washington County Harvest of Hope. They will use the donation to purchase a commercial freezer, as they are seeing an increased need for assistance.

In Washington County alone, 16% of the population and 21% of children live in poverty. Washington County Harvest of Hope gleans, grows, and gives food to programs that feed hungry people in our communities.

04/14/2026

Harvest of Hope thanks Hunger Solutions Mid-Ohio Valley for their donation of $6,425 to help purchase an additional commercial freezer for our Maple Street facility. The new storage space for frozen meat will improve our capacity to efficiently sort and store donations as they come in before distributing them to the agencies that serve the food insecure.

03/14/2026

As part of the celebration of Harvest of Hope's 20th year, we recently added additional signage to our delivery van. Both sides now refer to our 20+ years of service to Washington County. At the same time, we added additional signage to the back and the front of the van to make us more visible to the public while we do our work to feed the hungry. Thanks to all of you who have supported our food rescue and distribution mission for more than two decades.

02/13/2026

Thank you Elks #477 of Marietta for your generous donation of $3,000 to Washington County Harvest of Hope! The Elks have been serving our community for 126 years, and they are still going strong. With this donation, they are helping Harvest of Hope provide food for the approximately 9,000 people who face food insecurity in our county. Pictured: Jim Williams, Mark Duckworth, Charles Schob, Jr., Mark Nutter, Dave Rogers.