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

In 2025, the Lawrence County Community Foundation (LCCF) held its first Fill the Freezer campaign. The campaign invites buyers at the Lawrence County Fair Livestock Sale to donate their market lamb, goat, hog or beef purchases to fill the freezers of the county’s food pantries and fight hunger – one pound at a time. In its first year, the campaign resulted in 37 animals donated (one steer, six lambs, 10 hogs and 20 goats), generating 4,332 pounds of locally raised protein to feed Lawrence County residents.

Meeting a local need

“As we celebrate the achievements of our 4-H and FFA youth at this year’s livestock sale, we’re proud to help turn their hard work into nourishment for our neighbors who need a helping hand,” said Terri Taylor, chair of LCCF’s Fill the Freezer committee. “At the Lawrence County Community Foundation, we strive to make a lasting difference in our communities, and Fill the Freezer is just the latest example of how we can come together to build a stronger Lawrence County.”

The Fill the Freezer campaign is held in partnership with the Lawrence County Fair Board, local 4-H and FFA members, meat processors and Facing Hunger Foodbank, which will help distribute the donated meat to food pantries and mobile units serving Lawrence County. Thanks to donors to its endowment fund, LCCF is covering the meat processing costs.

The locally raised meat donated through Fill the Freezer will not only help individuals and families in Lawrence County, where more than 18 percent of the population experiences food insecurity, but also the food pantries striving to fill that need. Of the 445,000 pounds of food Facing Hunger Foodbank distributed in Lawrence County in 2023, only 38,000 pounds – less than 10 percent – were protein.

Learn more

For more information about LCCF’s Fill the Freezer campaign, email Lawrence@ffao.org or call 740.753.1111.

Filling the freezers of food pantries in Appalachian Ohio

LCCF is one of seven Foundation for Appalachian Ohio affiliate foundation partners spearheading the Fill the Freezer campaign, 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.

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.