Bring the Harvest Home 2022 donated food Photo courtesy of Marion County

Marion County’s 11th annual “Bring the Harvest Home” holiday food drive was deemed a huge success on Friday.

The collection effort, which has been spearheaded by Marion County Commissioner Kathy Bryant since its inception in 2011, brought in a total of 20,700 pounds of food and $17,000 in monetary donations on Friday, December 2 at Ocala’s Downtown Square.

Bring the Harvest Home 2022 donations on table photo courtesy of Marion County
“Bring the Harvest Home” culminated at the Ocala Downtown Square on Friday, December 2 (Photo courtesy of Marion County)

Thank you Marion County. You never cease to amaze me. Also, a big thank you to the entire team that worked this event. This does not happen without you,” said Commissioner Bryant. 

In a social media post, Marion County stated, “Thank you to all of our Marion County departments, as well as Marion County Public Schools, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Ocala Municipal Government, the Ocala Police Department, Marion County Fire Rescue, Ocala Fire Rescue, Florida Highway Patrol, 93.7 K COUNTRY, Marion County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, Marion County Supervisor of Elections, Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership, Marion County Animal Services, and many more who came and helped and/or donated their time today.”

Here are some photos that were taken during Friday’s event:

Bring the Harvest Home 2022 donated food Photo courtesy of Marion County
A total of 20,700 pounds of non-perishable food were collected on Friday and over the course of the “Bring the Harvest Home” drive (Photo courtesy of Marion County)
Bring the Harvest Home 2022 scale showing weight of donations Photo courtesy of Marion County
A closeup of a scale that was used to weigh the donated items (Photo courtesy of Marion County)
Bring the Harvest Home 2022 donations on table 3 photo courtesy of Marion County
The donated items filled trucks and covered tables on Friday (Photo courtesy of Marion County)
Bring the Harvest Home 2022 Marion County Fire Rescue grabbing donations Photo courtesy of Marion County
A Marion County Fire Rescue employee carrying food donations (Photo courtesy of Marion County)
Bring the Harvest Home 2022 officers grabbing donated items from vehicle photo courtesy of Marion County
Toiletries and baby supplies were also collected during the “Bring the Harvest Home” drive (Photo courtesy of Marion County)

All 20,700 pounds of the donations that were collected on Friday and over the course of the drive, along with the monetary donations totaling $17,000, will be distributed equally between Interfaith Emergency Services, Brother’s Keeper, and The Salvation Army – Ocala, Florida.

“Everything will go to help those who need it most in our community this holiday season,” stated Marion County on its Facebook page.