Eggfest canceled. Philanthropy continues.

For years, Brownsboro Hardware’s customers and fans have supported the store’s annual charity event called Eggfest. This year's event was slashed by the pandemic, but the charitable work continued. 

Customers made more than $27,500 in donations to be split among Kentucky Harvest and A Recipe to End Hunger. 

Customers donated some $6,750 online, and the Butch Bickel family held a private Eggfest event, raising nearly $800. Brownsboro Hardware and Paint’s owners, Jim and Marilyn Lehrer, donated $20,000 and will present each charity with a check for $13,752.More than $150,000 has been raised from previous Eggfests, which feature a ceramic charcoal barbecue cooking contest. 

“Because of our inability to have the Eggfest event, we felt as though this was an opportunity to give back to the community because charities have been so challenged during COVID to raise money," said Jim Lehrer, co-owner of Brownsboro Hardware & Paint. "Thanks to our customers, more people will be getting the food they need.”

Lehrer is a former board member of the Do it Best Corp. co-op, and a member of the 2020 class of Hardware All Stars.

“This is a blessing for Kentucky Harvest,” said Heather Stewart, executive director of Kentucky Harvest. “Our trucks pick up and deliver food 365 days a year. This money will help keep our trucks running and the food going to where it’s needed most.”

“100 percent of these funds raised by Jim and Marilyn Lehrer will go right back into the community and into the bellies of those in need, just like all of the money we raise,” added Dawne Gee, founder of “A Recipe to End Hunger. “We thank Brownsboro Hardware & Paint for being a company that strives to be successful in our community but then turns right around and tries to make a difference in that same community by giving back.”

The annual event will return next year on Aug. 6-7.