VCCF event aims to fight hunger in Vinton County – one pound at a time
McARTHUR, Ohio – The Vinton County Community Fund (VCCF) is bringing local residents, businesses and organizations together to fight hunger in Vinton County – one pound at a time.
VCCF’s Fair to Family campaign returns to the Vinton County Junior Fair on July 26. The campaign invites buyers at the fair’s junior livestock sale to donate their hog and steer purchases to fill the freezers of the St. Francis Evangelization Center’s food pantry and others to donate money to cover the meat processing costs.
“Last year’s Fair to Family campaign was record-breaking with individuals, organizations and businesses donating 10 hogs and two steers, generating more than 3,500 pounds of locally raised protein to feed Vinton County families,” said Ashley Ervin, VCCF committee member. “We are grateful to everyone who contributes to this growing tradition of giving that supports our local 4-H youth, helps our neighbors and demonstrates the difference we can make in our communities when we work together.”
The Fair to Family campaign is held in partnership with the Vinton County Junior Fair Board, local 4-H members, meat processors and the food pantry at the St. Francis Evangelization Center in McArthur and with corporate sponsorship from Columbia Gas and the NiSource Charitable Foundation.
The meat donated through Fair to Family helps individuals and families in Vinton County, where more than 18 percent of the population experiences food insecurity, as well as those striving to fill that need. The Southeast Ohio Foodbank, which serves food pantries in 10 Appalachian Ohio counties including the St. Francis Evangelization Center’s food pantry, reports that only 12 percent of the commodities it receives and distributes is perishable protein like frozen meat, poultry and seafood.
The Fair to Family campaign, which was started in 2019 by Vinton County Middle School teacher Megan Macke, has been a key initiative for VCCF, an affiliate foundation partner of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), for the past three years. Similar campaigns have been held in four other counties served by FAO affiliate foundations and are expanding to two additional counties this summer. In 2024, these campaigns provided a total of nearly 25,000 pounds of meat to families in need of a helping hand.