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.
Over the past four years, the campaign has inspired 58 hog and five steer donations and provided 12,794 pounds of fresh, locally raised protein to feed our friends and neighbors.
At the 2026 event, 23 hogs were donated, generating 2,441 pounds of ground pork, sausage and bacon.
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, businesses and organization who not only donate their livestock purchases but also donate money to cover meat processing costs.
Fair to Family Endowment
In 2026, the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas awarded the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio a Columbia Promise Fund grant to support several campaigns aimed at fighting hunger across the region. In Vinton County, support from the Columbia Promise Fund award is enabling the Vinton County Community Fund to establish an endowed matching campaign to build sustainable financial support for the Fair to Family hunger-relief program. Your gift to the endowment will be matched, dollar-for-dollar!
Support the Fair to Family EndowmentLearn more
For more information about Vinton County’s Fair to Family campaign, email Vinton@ffao.org or call 740.753.1111.
Support Fair to FamilyFilling 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.