Retired Doctor Donates 30,000 Pounds of Corn

Jack Yakish continues a sweet corn project started by Jim Renshaw Jr. in 2008 to support Second Harvest Food Bank.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Philanthropy

Wide photograph of a sweet corn field with tall stalks and mature ears in rows under warm late-afternoon light, with loose ears on the soil in the foreground. — Retired Erie doctor Jack Yakish donated 30,000 pounds of sweet corn to Second Harvest Food Bank in 2026, continuing a project begun in 2008 by Jim Renshaw Jr. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Retired Erie doctor Jack Yakish donated 30,000 pounds of sweet corn to Second Harvest Food Bank in 2026. He took over the project from Jim Renshaw Jr., who started it in 2008 after retiring as owner of Renshaw Insurance.

Why it matters

The project has yielded 250,000 pounds of corn over the past decade, providing a steady source of produce for the food bank's clients. It illustrates how a long-running volunteer effort can be sustained across generations of organizers.

The project has produced 250,000 pounds of corn over the past 10 years, starting from about one acre planted by Renshaw in 2008. In 2026, Yakish's share reached 30,000 pounds, borrowed on three acres of land in Fairview.

The players

Jack Yakish

A retired Erie doctor who took over the sweet corn project after Renshaw asked him to in 2023, having grown sweet corn as a teenager in Titusville.

Jim Renshaw Jr.

A retired owner of Renshaw Insurance who started the sweet corn project in 2008 and was passionate about nonprofits and the outdoors.

Second Harvest Food Bank

The food bank that receives the donated sweet corn and distributes it to its clients, with volunteers assisting in the harvest.

The details

Pickers stand in the fields and lob ears of corn into large boxes that Pat Renshaw hauls, with family, friends and Second Harvest volunteers harvesting over about two to three weeks. The project requires 30 to 40 people to distribute the corn to the food bank's clients.

2008: Jim Renshaw Jr. plants about an acre of sweet corn on his Fairview property for the food bank.
2023: Renshaw, then 80, asks retired Erie doctor Jack Yakish to take over the project.
2024: Renshaw dies.
2026: Yakish donates 30,000 pounds of sweet corn to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Philanthropy in Context

Yakish's donation continues the sweet corn plot Jim Renshaw Jr. began on his Fairview property in 2008, which has now yielded 250,000 pounds of produce for Second Harvest Food Bank over roughly a decade. The handoff from Renshaw to Yakish shows how an individual's food bank donation can outlast its founder.

Residents who want to support Second Harvest Food Bank can look for volunteer harvesting or donation opportunities, which rely on 30 to 40 people to distribute the corn. The project's harvest runs over about two to three weeks, so volunteers can plan their time around that window.

The takeaway

Sustained community giving often depends on a successor willing to carry a project forward, as Yakish did after Renshaw's death. Supporting local food banks through volunteering or donating produce can extend a single person's effort for years.