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

 

In 2025, the Morgan Community Fund partnered with two Morgan County educators to hold the county’s first Fill the Freezer campaign. The campaign invites buyers at the Morgan County Fair 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. In its first year, the campaign resulted in 13 hogs donated, surpassing a goal of 10 hogs and generating 1,450 pounds of locally raised protein to feed Morgan County residents. 

Meeting a local need

“We can do a lot more together than as individuals, which is what Fill the Freezer is all about,” explained Devan Eier, an agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Morgan High School and a Morgan Community Fund (MCF) committee member. “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 and Chase Myers, the band and choir director at Morgan High School, led the Morgan County Fill the Freezer campaign as a joint service project through their participation in the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s Growing Home Fellowship. They are two of seven individuals living and/or working in Morgan County who were selected for the inaugural class of Growing Home Fellows, a program FAO launched 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 held in partnership with the Morgan County Fair Board and 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. With the support of its donors, MCF covered the meat processing costs for the campaign’s first year.

The locally raised meat donated through Fill the Freezer not only helps 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.”

Learn more

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

Filling the freezers of food pantries across the region

Morgan County is the latest to join Fill the Freezer efforts across Appalachian Ohio. In 2025, seven of FAO’s affiliate foundation partners spearheaded or supported 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.