Harvest Dinner Returns to Campbell Family Farm, Raises $20,000 for Rural Gone Urban Foundation Programs
For the second year running, Harvest Dinner at Campbell Grain and Livestock in Franklin, Indiana, felt like the kind of night you'd want to bottle up and keep. Strings of twinkle lights stretched over long farm tables, soybean fields stood on one side and corn rows on the other, and neighbors who'd never met were passing plates and bidding on pies like it was tradition already.
The Campbell family opened their farm for the evening once again, welcoming guests onto land that has carried their family's story for generations. Jennifer Campbell, who co-chaired the event, greeted the crowd as friends and strangers alike settled in.
Harvest Dinner at Chris and Jennifer Campbell’s farm in Franklin, Indiana.
"Hosting Harvest Dinner at the Campbell farm for a second year did not feel like repeating something. It felt like watching a tradition take root," said Megan Kuhn, event committee member. "You could feel the difference from last year. People showed up already excited, already trusting that it was going to be a good night. Watching guests wander through the wildflowers Jennifer grew, then turn around and start bidding on leftover pie like it was the best deal in the county, that is the kind of thing you cannot plan. It just happens when people believe in what you are building."
By the end of the night, the event raised nearly $20,000 to support the Foundation’s mission: standing beside rural women through small business marketing grants, no-GPA-required scholarships for hardworking students, and Love Bombs—no-questions-asked micro-grants that give women in trenches of a cancer diagnosis the freedom to make memories without hesitation.
The details that made the night
Beth Horton, who keeps a booth at Salvage Sisters Antique Market in downtown Franklin, spent the better part of a year collecting vintage plates, one estate sale and thrift shop at a time, so every place setting felt like it carried a story. She built the centerpieces too, growing the flowers that filled them herself, with Pam Bridges and Tammy Gambrell lending their hands to bring the tables together.
The Campbell crew built a farm table from scratch and put up a backdrop for the bar, giving the evening a gathering place that felt like it had always belonged on that land. Julie Stewart of Salvage Sisters Antique Market brought in the small touches that finished each table. The Campbell family's farm was manicured from fence line to pasture, and Jennifer Campbell gave guests a field of flowers to walk through, turning a corner of the farm into its own kind of centerpiece.
Long before any of that came together, a small army showed up to set up tables and chairs and get the farm ready to welcome a crowd. Chris Campbell, Jennifer Campbell, Emi Lou Campbell, Cole Campbell, Lilly Pryor and Casey (Campbell) Fix put in the work alongside Bobbie Eck, Megan Kuhn, Judy Campbell, Maddie, Elle, Zach, Matt and Stephanie.
Sweets with a purpose
Espie's Whimsies donated the pies that filled the dessert table and closed out the evening's meal. What guests did not finish went straight to auction, and the leftover pies alone raised nearly $1,200 for the Foundation.
"Stephanie is my aunt, and watching her hand pies across that table meant more to me than most people in the crowd probably realized," said Brooke Taylor, founder and board chair. "She has been baking for this family my whole life, and this year she baked for all of Harvest Dinner too. When we auctioned off what was left and watched people fight over the last slice, I do not think anyone loved it more than I did."
Kuehnert Dairy, established in 1897 and still family-run in Indiana, donated the ice cream that rounded out dessert, giving the evening the same taste of home it brought to Harvest Dinner last year.
Espie's Whimsies is a rural woman-owned small business, exactly the kind this foundation exists to champion.
Students who kept it running
Students from Indian Creek FFA and Hope FFA parked cars, checked in guests, cleared tables, scooped ice cream, and kept the night running. Advisors Joe Dunn of Indian Creek FFA and Aleesa Dickerson of Hope FFA organized their chapters for the night.
"As part of the planning committee, I saw firsthand how much this event depended on our volunteers," said Leah Beyer, co-chair and board member. "From parking cars to clearing tables, the Indian Creek and Hope FFA students carried so much of the load. We are especially grateful to those chapters. Their enthusiasm and hard work made the night seamless, and it is inspiring to see young people step up in such a meaningful way."
Hope FFA Chapter
Indian Creek FFA
Vendors who gave back
A handful of vendors set up shop on the farm for the evening, and each one directed a portion of their sales straight back to the Foundation. From Our Farm Kids to Yours, Reilly Lykins of Midwest FarmGirl Artisan, Vintage Whimsy, and The Laughing Tabbee Studio, which ran a hat bar for guests, all turned a night of shopping into another way for guests to give.
A record night for the silent auction
The silent auction closed at $4,175 raised across 378 bids. Donors filled the tables with everything from a limited edition John Deere pedal tractor courtesy of Reynolds Farm Equipment to a hand-sewn American flag quilt from Jennifer Campbell, a sterling silver chain from Franklin Jewelers, a curated collection from Pure Good, and a vintage basket from Salvage Sisters Antique Market.
"The silent auction just keeps proving itself," said Megan Kuhn. "We had 378 bids this year, and every single one of them was someone choosing to give a little more because they believed in what their money would do. Watching people go back and forth over a pedal tractor or a vintage basket, knowing that competition was raising real money for real women, never gets old. We closed the night at $4,175, and every dollar of it goes straight back into this mission."
Sponsors and partners
A night like this does not run on goodwill alone. It runs on the businesses and neighbors willing to put their name behind it before a single guest arrives, and this year's list carried the same weight as last year's.
Sponsors gave the night its foundation: Twisted Tree Photography at Hawclif Farm, Campbell Grain & Livestock, Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., Johnson County Farm Bureau, Pretty Potties, Salvage Sisters Antique Market, Sub-Surface of Indiana Inc., Swartz Mortuary, Kuehnert Dairy, Espie's Whimsies, K L Walker Enterprises LLC, Janet Esteb, Cindy Blackwell, and Clay Ranch.
Looking ahead
As the last pies were auctioned off and the lights lingered over the farm tables, it was clear the second Harvest Dinner had done what the first one promised: turned a single night into the start of a tradition.
"Two years in, and I still find myself standing under those lights a little overwhelmed," said Brooke Taylor, founder and board chair. "This foundation started with my story, but nights like this remind me how far past me it has grown. Every table, every quilt, every pie someone fought over at the auction, that is this community deciding it believes in rural women enough to show up and prove it. I am just grateful to be standing in the middle of it."
About the Rural Gone Urban Foundation
The Rural Gone Urban Foundation, Inc. was founded in 2022 to stand beside women in rural communities through meaningful, no-nonsense support. With a focus on impact over optics, the Foundation funds three core programs:
Small Business Grants that help women-owned businesses invest in marketing, branding, and digital strategy to stay visible and competitive.
Scholarships that support rural students pursuing education and leadership opportunities.
Love Bombs, no-questions-asked micro-grants that give families facing cancer the freedom to make memories together.
Rooted in rural values and driven by modern storytelling, the Foundation exists to make sure strong, brave women have the resources they need to thrive—not just survive.
