Campaigns expand to 12 Appalachian Ohio counties, deliver nearly 50,000 pounds of fresh protein

NELSONVILLE, Ohio – Communities across Appalachian Ohio are making history in the fight against local hunger.

This summer, Fill the Freezer, hunger-relief campaigns spearheaded by the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s (FAO) affiliate foundation partners, delivered 48,232 pounds of locally raised protein to food pantries across the region, marking the program’s most successful year yet and expanding its reach to a record 12 counties.

Piloted in 2021 by the Community Foundation for Perry County (CFPC), one of FAO’s 15 affiliate foundation partners, Fill the Freezer invites buyers at county fair livestock sales to donate their animal purchases to fill the freezers of local food pantries, while others donate money to cover meat processing costs. The goal? To fight hunger – one donation and pound at a time.

The campaign’s first five years saw it grow to seven counties: Gallia, Harrison, Hocking, Lawrence, Morgan, Perry and Vinton County, where it operates under the name Fair to Family. This year, Guernsey, Jackson, Meigs, Monroe and Noble counties launched their inaugural campaigns. To date, these campaigns have delivered a cumulative nearly 140,000 pounds of fresh protein – often unaffordable for both families and the food pantries who serve them – to local residents facing food insecurity.

This year’s growth was fueled in part by a Columbia Promise Fund grant awarded to FAO by the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas. The grant is providing a total of $100,000 over two years to help fund the expansion of Fill the Freezer into new counties while enabling previously established campaigns to explore innovative ways to grow their impact and sustainability.

“FAO is proud to support our affiliate foundation partners who have taken a longstanding community tradition – the county fair livestock sale – and turned it into a sustained and community-driven approach to fighting hunger at a local level,” said Cara Dingus Brook, FAO president and CEO. “It’s inspiring to see communities learn from one another, try new things and grow Fill the Freezer into a regional movement that empowers everyone to address a real need in our communities. We’re grateful to every volunteer, donor, sponsor, local youth and organization who has helped make the success of these campaigns possible.”

2026 campaign results:

  • The Gallia County Foundation’s Fill the Freezer (with support from a funding award from the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington) yielded 38 hogs, producing 5,000 pounds of sausage.
  • The Guernsey County Foundation’s inaugural Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from the NiSource Charitable Foundation, Columbia Gas, EOG Resources and Select Water Solutions) yielded 50 hogs, producing 6,437 pounds of sausage.
  • The Harrison County Community Foundation’s Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from EOG Resources Inc. and South Central Power Co.) yielded 20 hogs, producing 2,926 pounds of sausage.
  • The Hocking County Community Fund’s Fill the Freezer yielded 21 hogs, producing 2,753 pounds of sausage. Support from the Columbia Promise Fund grant enabled the campaign to pilot a partnership with the Stock the Trailer program, which engages junior fair boards in collecting nonperishable food items for local food pantries and resulted in 1,240 pounds of food this year.
  • The Jackson County Community Foundation’s inaugural Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas) yielded 21 hogs, producing 2,418 pounds of sausage.
  • The Lawrence County Community Foundation’s Fill the Freezer yielded 105 animals (15 turkeys, 80 chickens and 10 hogs), producing 2,106 pounds of meat.
  • The Meigs County Foundation’s inaugural Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas) yielded 13 hogs, producing 1,596 pounds of sausage.
  • The Monroe County Community Foundation’s inaugural Fill the Freezer, held in partnership with Expand Energy, (with corporate sponsorship from the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas) yielded 29 animals (25 hogs, three steers and a feeder calf), producing 4,650 pounds of meat.
  • The Morgan Community Fund’s Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from EOG Resources Inc.) yielded 18 hogs, producing 2,160 pounds of sausage.
  • The Noble County Community Foundation’s inaugural Fill the Freezer (with corporate sponsorship from the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas and EOG Resources Inc.) yielded 28 hogs, producing 3,570 pounds of sausage.
  • The Community Foundation for Perry County’s Fill the Freezer (with sponsorship from United Way of Muskingum, Perry and Morgan Counties) yielded 100 hogs – 79 donated and 21 purchased by CFPC – producing 12,175 pounds of sausage. Support from the Columbia Promise Fund grant helped the campaign invest in the capacity of local food pantry partners to serve their clients and to access fresh produce.
  • The Vinton County Community Fund’s Fair to Family yielded 23 hogs, producing 2,441 pounds of sausage. Support from the Columbia Promise Fund grant enabled the campaign to establish an endowed matching campaign to begin building sustainable financial support for the program.

Each of these campaigns is held in partnership with the county fair boards, local 4-H and FFA members, food pantries, meat processors and FAO.

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