Fighting hunger in Harrison County – one pig at a time

Livestock sales are a pinnacle moment at county fairs, bringing community together to support and celebrate local 4-H youth. In Harrison County, this summer ritual also brings community together to support our neighbors facing food insecurity.

In 2024, HCCF debuted its Fill the Freezer campaign, inviting buyers at the Harrison County Fair’s Junior 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.

In its first year, Fill the Freezer saw 19 hogs donated, generating 3,739 pounds of sausage valued at more than $19,600 to feed Harrison County residents. In 2025, 21 hogs were donated, providing 4,080 pounds of locally raised protein.

HCCF’s Fill the Freezer campaign is held in partnership with the Harrison County Fair Board, local 4-H members, local food pantries and meat processors.

Fill the Freezer was piloted in the region by the Community Foundation for Perry County in 2021 and has since expanded to six other Appalachian Ohio counties served by FAO affiliate foundations. In 2022, the Hocking County Community Fund launched its Fill the Freezer campaign, followed in 2023 by the Gallia Community Foundation and the Vinton County Community Fund, which helped expand a similar program called “Fair to Family.” In 2025, the Lawrence County Community Foundation and the Morgan Community Fund expanded the campaign to their counties.

In 2025 alone, more than 33,000 pounds of locally raised protein were donated through these programs.

Across our region, communities are putting food on the tables of families in need, supporting those working on the front lines of food insecurity and demonstrating the difference we can all make when we work together.