Homemade bread loaf clears $1,000 at 2013 auction... who will top it in 2014?

Article from the  Albany Democrat-Herald


It’s not exactly a secret that Ron Litwiller likes to bake. So it was suggested that Litwiller bake a loaf of bread to kick off the auction at the Oregon Mennonite Festival for World Relief on Oct. 12. Litwiller, the chairman of the festival and president and CEO of Mennonite Village, hoped to raise $100. The loaf sold for $1,000 at the Albany event. “I never expected to have such positive results. ... I was very surprised. Very happy,” Litwiller said. “I obviously knew that it was not because of the bread. It was a gesture and contribution for the work that would be done,” he added.

This year’s Oregon Mennonite Festival for World Relief raised about $110,000 for relief, development and peacekeeping work throughout the globe. During its 30 years, the event has raised $2.3 million for the Mennonite Central Committee. Hundreds of people, not all of them Mennonite, volunteer to put together the event. Almost all of the goods sold there, such as food or the auction items like intricate quilts, are donated. Litwiller said that the festival is a fun way that the Mennonite Community can use its traditional strengths, such as cooking and sewing, to make a difference.

The Mennonite Festival for World Relief is held the second Saturday in October every year.

By Kyle Odegard, Albany Democrat-Herald