Fill the Freezer

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

The Jackson County Community Foundation held its first Fill the Freezer campaign at the 2026 Jackson County Junior Fair. The campaign invited buyers at the fair’s livestock sale to donate their hog purchases and others to donate money to cover meat processing costs to fill the freezers of the county’s food pantries. The goal? To fight hunger in Jackson County – one pig at a time.

Twenty-one hogs were donated at the inaugural campaign, providing 2,418 pounds of locally raised protein to feed Harrison County residents. The NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas served as corporate sponsors of the 2026 campaign.

Meeting a local need

The Fill the Freezer campaign is held in partnership with the Jackson County Fair Board, local 4-H and FFA members, meat processors and the Southeast Ohio Foodbank, which stores and distributes the donated meat to Jackson County food pantries.

The locally raised meat donated through Fill the Freezer not only helps individuals and families in Jackson County, where nearly 19 percent of the population experiences food insecurity*, but also the food pantries that serve them by providing high-quality protein.

The Southeast Ohio Foodbank, which serves 10 Appalachian Ohio counties including Jackson County, reports that only 12 percent of the commodities it receives and distributes to food pantries include perishable protein like frozen meat, poultry and seafood. Meat is among the most expensive grocery items, making it often unaffordable for both families living on lower incomes and food pantries.

* Source: Feeding America

Learn more

For more information about the Jackson County Fill the Freezer campaign, email Jackson@ffao.org or call 740.753.1111.

Filling the freezers of food pantries across the region

Jackson County is one of the latest to join Fill the Freezer efforts across Appalachian Ohio. This year, more than 10 of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s affiliate foundation partners are spearheading or supporting Fill the Freezer, which was piloted in the region in 2021 by the Community Foundation for Perry County. In 2025 alone, more than 33,000 pounds of meat were donated through these programs.