GREENFIELD — A traditional celebration of local food, agriculture and community, returning for its 19th year, is expanding to include an art auction to bolster fundraising efforts for Stone Soup Café.

The annual Harvest Supper will be held Saturday, Aug. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m.

“It’s really about celebrating the bounty of the county, bringing people together to create beloved community and to make that space where all are welcome,” said Kirsten Levitt, executive director and chef at Stone Soup Café.

At the event’s height, more than 1,000 residents gathered for a pay-what-you-can meal. This year, Levitt anticipates the Harvest Supper will attract roughly 800 attendees.

Along with forging community bonds and celebrating local farming, the event also serves as a fundraiser for Stone Soup Café, which provides pay-what-you-can community meals at All Souls Church, an emergency curbside food pantry and a culinary training program.

Levitt explained Stone Soup Café hopes to raise $20,000 to $25,000 — enough to operate for a month. Last year, the organization was only able to raise $1,000 after paying the expenses involved with operating the event, so organizers are introducing the first-ever Harvest Supper Art Auction to expand fundraising efforts.

Thirty-five local artists donated pieces, which are being auctioned off at givebutter.com/c/HarvestSupper24/auction. A selection of artwork will be on display at the Greenfield Public Library beginning Friday, Aug. 16, in the first-floor conference room, as well as across the street at Stone Soup Café, until the Harvest Supper event on Aug. 24, when the art will be transferred to the Greenfield Common. Harvest Supper attendees will have an opportunity to place their final bids on an array of artwork, ranging from paintings and sculptures to mixed media and photography.

The first Harvest Supper, held in 2005, was the brainchild of Juanita Nelson, the social justice and peace activist who was also involved with starting the Greenfield Farmers’ Market.

“[She] was sitting around musing that there weren’t a lot of people accessing the farmers market, almost 20 years ago,” Levitt said of Nelson, “and she was like, ‘If people could just eat this glorious food, have all of the nutrients, give them what they need from a cellular level up and know how delicious the food is — why couldn’t we have them all just sit at a table?’”

Stone Soup Café started running the celebration in 2015. Previously, the event was run by Greenfield restaurants Hope & Olive and Magpie.

The Harvest Supper will also feature a free market from 4 to 5 p.m. where gardeners and farmers can bring their excess produce for attendees to take home. There will be live music and hula hooping, too.

More information about the event can be found at thestonesoupcafe.org/p/55/Annual-Harvest-Supper-Celebration, where those interested can also sign up to volunteer or make a donation. The event has a rain date of Sunday, Aug. 25, also from 4 to 7 p.m. on the Greenfield Common.