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

The Meigs County Foundation is partnering with the Meigs County Fair Board, local 4-H and FFA members, meat processors, the Southeast Ohio Foodbank, and the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas to launch Meigs County’s first Fill the Freezer campaign. The campaign invites buyers at the 2026 Meigs County Junior Fair Livestock Sale on Saturday, Aug. 22, to donate their hog purchases to fill the freezers of county’s food pantries and fight hunger in Meigs County – one pig at a time.

The NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas are serving as corporate sponsors for this inaugural event. The goal for this year’s campaign is 10 donated hogs. With the support of its donors, the Meigs County Foundation is covering the meat processing costs for those hogs.

Meeting a local need

The locally raised meat donated through Fill the Freezer will not only help individuals and families in Meigs County, where more than 20 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 Meigs 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 Meigs County Fill the Freezer campaign, email Meigs@ffao.org or call 740.753.1111.