“Where Good Grows” - Thanks for A Great 2021

As we look back on 2021, we have a lot to be thankful for and have so many good things to celebrate thanks to our valued employees, guests, partners, and communities.

Here’s a recap of our Where Good Grows program initiatives this year.

1. Supporting the next generation of farmers: Bob Evans is proud to further the agricultural education of deserving students. With the National FFA Organization, Bob Evans sponsored nine Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Grant recipients to help them pursue entrepreneurial agriculture projects. Check out one of these students, Alex, working on his project.

2. Funding the future of farming: To help raise funds for the next annual round of SAE grants, we held our “Egg Crack, Give Back” fundraiser during FFA Week. Thanks to the guests in our restaurants who participated by ordering a Farmer’s Choice Breakfast on February 25th, we were able to raise $15,000 together to fund SAE projects in 2022.

3. Growing good in our hometown: Earlier this year, we launched the Bob Evans Garden Project at the original Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. Thanks to the leadership of our Farm Manager, Chris Williams, and some help from local students at Vinton Elementary, we were able to turn an unused piece of land near the iconic white barn into a community garden. Students were invited back to the garden in September to help harvest the fruits of their labor. Over 400 pounds of fresh produce harvested from the garden was donated to The Grace United Methodist Church’s food pantry in the Gallipolis community.

4. Serving seasonal farm-fresh food: As the home of America’s Farm Fresh, we also pride ourselves on serving delicious, farm-fresh food to our guests. Every day we are guided by the wholesome values of our founder Bob Evans and strive to carry on his legacy by serving exceptional farm-fresh food. Thanks to our wonderful suppliers, this year we were able to bring new, seasonal items to our menus, with fresh berries in the spring and Hass avocados in the summer. We also brought back pumpkin in the fall through our seasonal pies and freshly baked pumpkin bread. We expanded our holiday offerings this year by introducing a Pot Roast Farmhouse Feast option to provide our guests with new savory flavors to enjoy during their holiday meal at-home.

5. Celebrating the harvest season and giving back: 2021 also marked a big anniversary for us—as we celebrated the 50th Bob Evans Farm Festival, held at the birthplace of the brand: the Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. As a tribute to America’s farmers, we brought the community together, gave them a taste of farm life and donated to our Ohio Farming organizations, including the Ohio FFA Foundation, Ohio 4-H and the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. It was a weekend of enjoying iconic Bob Evans farm-fresh food, live entertainment, several farm demonstrations, fireworks and much more. We’re looking forward to the 51st Farm Festival in 2022!

6. Nourishing our neighbors: To give back to our local Columbus community during the holidays, we partnered with the Columbus Dream Center for the second year in a row to donate 1,200 comforting Thanksgiving meals to individuals in need on Thanksgiving Day.

Thank you again to all of our employees, guests, partners and communities for your support this year. We look forward to continuing to serve and partner with you in 2022!

To learn more or to get involved, visit bobevans.com/where-good-grows or follow us at @bobevans on Facebook or @bobevansfarms on Instagram or Twitter.