Food donations net local fair $5K

VW independent staff/submitted information

“Fight Hunger, Stock the Trailer” is a friendly competition that empowers young Ohio residents to combat hunger. This summer marked the fourth year of the program, which is presented by Farm Credit Mid-America and sponsored by Rural 1^st. 66 county fairs across the state collected a record-breaking 286,339 pounds of food for local food banks and the Van Wert County Fair was among the leaders.

“This year, we were able to increase the total amount raised by over 25 percent while reaching a record amount of food raised,” said Melanie Strait-Bok, senior vice president of agricultural lending for Farm Credit Mid-America in Ohio. “With more than a million Ohioans facing food insecurity, it has been inspiring to see our communities come together in this way.”

Every participating county fair received a donation to support activities that build future agriculture leaders. Additional prize dollars were given to the top fifteen participating fairs. In total, Farm Credit Mid-America donated more than $50,000 to junior fair boards. 

Winners were determined by calculating the total weight of all donations at participating fairs throughout five regions in Ohio. First place regional winners were awarded $5,000 in addition to the $500 donation they received for participating in the event. This year’s first place winners were:

• Champaign County Fair for collecting 11,700 pounds of food
• Guernsey County Fair for collecting 30,340 pounds of food
• Lorain County Fair for collecting 32,580 pounds of food
• Ross County Fair for collecting 30,140 pounds of food
• Van Wert County Fair for collecting 7,340 pounds of food

Second-place winners were awarded $3,500 in addition to the $500 donation they received for participating in the event. This year’s second place winners were:

• Ashland County Fair for collecting 10,080 pounds of food
• Clermont County Fair for collecting 12,455 pounds of food
• Hartford County Fair for collecting 13,677 pounds of food
• Henry County Fair for collecting 4,380 pounds of food
• Warren County Fair for collecting 7,080 pounds of food

Third place winners were awarded $1,500 in addition to the $500 donation they received for participating in the event. This year’s third place winners were:

• Brown County Fair for collecting 10,100 pounds of food
• Defiance County Fair for collecting 3,043 pounds of food 
• Greene County Fair for collecting 5,440 pounds of food
• Muskingum County Fair for collecting 10,300 pounds of food
• Stark County Fair for collecting 8,620 pounds of food