COLUMBUS – The Shepherd’s Feast, started in Polk County in 2005, is a Christmas tradition started by Ross Fox after he went to Hendersonville and asked himself if the county could do the same thing.

Each Christmas, Fox gathered volunteers at the Polk County Middle School cafeteria to put on a feast for people who had nowhere to go on the holiday. Fox passed away earlier this year, and Carlann Scherping is asking for volunteers from past events to contact her to keep the tradition going.

“Ross Fox was volunteering in Hendersonville and he was talking to some of the women there and found out that many had lost a spouse or had nowhere to go,” Scherping said. “He asked, ‘Why can’t this happen in Polk County? Let’s make it happen.”

Scherping and her husband Dave got involved with the feast while she was teaching at the middle school. The couple said they would like to get involved as a way of giving back to the community on Christmas Day.

“Giardini’s used to provide one of their chefs for the feast, but after a few years, they couldn’t anymore,” Scherping explained. “Dave has had experience in the kitchen and so he works in the kitchen now during the feast.”

The feast begins its preparation on December 23, two days before Christmas. Scherping said she has had difficulty finding the “key people” involved with the event in the past.

“What we really need right now are the volunteers. There’s been difficulty in finding the key people that Ross would have known,” Scherping said. “How in the world are we going to reconstruct this thing? We’re in this information-gathering phase now. We need to find who was in charge of getting gifts together, who got the turkeys, who did the desserts, all of that.”

The event will bring in anywhere from 250 to 300 people between 1 and 4 p.m. on Christmas Day, according to Scherping. She said this event is a great way to fulfill the spirit of Christmas and that she and Dave want to carry on the tradition as it has been done since 2005. To contact Scherping about volunteering for this year’s Shepherd’s Feast call 828-894-3253.

“Dave and I definitely want to make sure this continues and that it is done just like it always has been,” Scherping explained. “Anyone who has had experience in the past needs to step forward as we’re trying to piece together the volunteers. It’s a great way to fulfill the Christmas spirit of giving, of the community serving others.”