Campaign aims to fight hunger in Morgan County – one pig at a time
McCONNELSVILLE, Ohio – Two Morgan County educators, in partnership with the Morgan Community Fund (MCF), are debuting a new campaign at the 2025 Morgan County Fair to fight local hunger.
Called Fill the Freezer, the campaign invites buyers at the fair’s Sept. 6 livestock sale to donate their hog purchases to fill the freezers of Morgan County United Ministries’ food pantry and fight hunger – one pig at a time.
“Chase Myers and I are leading the Fill the Freezer campaign as a joint service project through our participation in the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s Growing Home Fellowship,” said Devan Eier. “And the Morgan Community Fund is stepping up to support this effort. We can do a lot more together than as individuals, which is what Fill the Freezer is all about. Through the program, we’re rallying our local youth, residents, businesses and organizations to help our neighbors who struggle with food insecurity and the dedicated local volunteers at our food pantry who strive to fill that need.”
Eier, an agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Morgan High School and an MCF committee member, and Chase, the band and choir director at Morgan High School, are two of seven individuals living and/or working in Morgan County who were selected for the inaugural class of Growing Home Fellows. The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) launched the fellowship in 2023 to attract, retain and prepare the next generation of community leaders across the region. Each of the fellows has committed to live, work and volunteer in their communities for five years and receives a financial stipend and participates in a leadership program.
The Fill the Freezer campaign is being held in partnership with the Morgan County Fair Board and its Sale Committee, local 4-H members and Morgan High School’s FFA chapter, Hilltop Butcher Shop in Malta and the food pantry at Morgan County United Ministries.
The goal of this inaugural event is 10 donated hogs. With the support of its donors, MCF, one of FAO’s 15 affiliate foundation partners, will cover the meat processing costs for those hogs.
The locally raised meat donated through Fill the Freezer will not only help individuals and families in Morgan County, where more than 17 percent of the population experiences food insecurity, but also the food pantry, which serves approximately 450-500 families each month. The Southeast Ohio Foodbank, which serves food pantries in 10 Appalachian Ohio counties including Morgan County United Ministries’ food pantry, reports that only 12 percent of the commodities it receives and distributes is perishable protein like frozen meat, poultry and seafood.
“Whether it’s through music, 4-H or FFA, we’re teaching our youth skills that span career and life,” said Myers. “Fill the Freezer is taking those lessons a step further, allowing them to give back to their community and see the impact they’re having on their friends and neighbors.”
Morgan County is the latest to join Fill the Freezer efforts across Appalachian Ohio. This year, seven of FAO’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 2024 alone, nearly 25,000 pounds of meat were donated through these programs.