Harrison County Community Foundation event fights hunger – one pig at a time
CADIZ, Ohio – The Harrison County Community Foundation (HCCF) is bringing local residents, businesses and organizations together to help community members facing food insecurity.
HCCF debuted its Fill the Freezer campaign at the 2024 Harrison County Fair, inviting buyers at the fair’s livestock sale to donate their hog purchases to fill the freezers of the county’s food pantries and fight hunger – one pig at a time. A total of 19 hogs were donated, generating 3,739 pounds of sausage to feed Harrison County families. The donated meat was valued at more than $19,600.
The Fill the Freezer campaign returns to the Harrison County Fair during the June 27 livestock sale. In addition to donating hog purchases to the campaign, anyone can support this effort by donating funds to cover meat processing costs. A grant from South Central Power Company is helping to cover this year’s meat processing fees.
“Watching our community come together to support our local 4-H youth while also providing our neighbors with much-needed protein reaffirms what a caring and generous county we live in,” said Sandi Thompson, HCCF committee member. “This is just one of the ways the Harrison County Community Foundation and our donors are making a difference across our communities. When we give together, our giving goes even further.”
HCCF’s Fill the Freezer campaign is made possible through a partnership with the Harrison County Fair Board, local 4-H members and local food pantries.
HCCF is the fifth geographic affiliate of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio to spearhead similar campaigns in their counties. The Community Foundation for Perry County piloted Fill the Freezer in the region in 2021, followed in 2022 by the Hocking County Community Fund. In 2023, the Gallia Community Foundation launch its Fill the Freezer campaign, and the Vinton County Community Fund assumed ownership of a similar program called Fair to Family. In 2024, these programs provided a total of nearly 25,000 pounds of meat to families in need of a helping hand. This summer will see Fill the Freezer expand to two additional Appalachian Ohio counties.