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

In 2019, Vinton County Middle School teacher Megan Macke launched Fair to Family, inviting buyers at the Vinton County Junior Fair’s livestock sale to donate hogs they purchase to help feed those who would go hungry without assistance from the St. Francis Evangelization Center’s food pantry.

Macke thought Fair to Family, which had been yielding three to four donated hogs annually, would end after the 2022 event and she had exhausted funding for the program. That’s when the Vinton County Community Fund (VCCF) stepped in and asked Macke if she would help continue the program with VCCF taking the lead – and a partnership was born.

The result? Eight of the 30 hogs purchased at the 2023 livestock sale were donated. A local family gave an extra hog. More than $2,000 was raised to cover meat processing costs, and 1,586 packages of meat were delivered to the food pantry. Following the success of the 2023 Fair to Family campaign, VCCF assumed ownership of the program.

At the 2024 event, 10 hogs and two steers were donated, resulting in 3,537 pounds of locally raised protein delivered to the food pantry. In 2025, 16 hogs and three steers were donated, providing 5,230 pounds of meat.

VCCF’s 2026 Fair to Family campaign will be held Friday, July 31.

In partnership with the Vinton County Fair board, local 4-H and FFA members, the St. Francis Evangelization Center’s food pantry and the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, Fair to Family brings together local residents and businesses who not only donate their hog purchases but also donate money to cover meat processing costs.

Learn more

For more information about Vinton County’s Fair to Family campaign, email Vinton@ffao.org or call 740.753.1111.

Support Fair to Family
Filling the freezers of food pantries across the region

In 2025, seven of FAO’s affiliate foundation partners spearheaded or supported similar campaigns aimed at fighting hunger. That year alone, more than 33,000 pounds of meat were donated through these programs, which are expanding to additional counties this year. Learn more about Fill the Freezer efforts across Appalachian Ohio.