LAPORTE, Ind. – 4-H youth, during their respective county fairs statewide, collected more than 181,000 pounds of food to fight hunger in Indiana.

The most raised by a single 4-H group was from LaPorte County with over 23,000 pounds of meat and non-perishable goods that went to 32 local food pantries.

“That’s a pretty good haul for all of our local food banks,” said Brett Kessler, treasurer of the LaPorte County Fair Board.

4-H youth from 40 counties took part in the annual “Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer” challenge presented by Farm Credit Mid-America and sponsored by Rural 1st.

About half of the food from LaPorte County was in the form of one-pound packages of ground beef from animals shown by 4-H’ers during the fair and sold during the fair’s livestock auction.

The buyers were individuals and organizations, who donated the animals for processing to the feed the hungry cause.

Kessler said the meat came from 19 goats, 24 lambs, four steers, 18 hogs and over 90 chickens.

“I think everybody was really happy for the effort that went into it and I think the 4-H’ers are proud of their hard work,” he said.

The remainder of the food from LaPorte County was in the form of canned goods and other non-perishable items placed inside donation containers by fairgoers, along with companies making sizable contributions.

Helping to lead the winning effort was Kelsey Guadarrama, an educator at the Purdue Extension branch in LaPorte County.

“I was really excited,” is how she described her reaction when learning about the first-place statewide finish.

In the same competition last year, the LaPorte County 4-H’ers raised more than 9,500 pounds of food and just over 13,000 pounds of food in the previous two years combined.

Guadarrama said the totals were much higher this year after 4-H youth taking part in the drive set a goal of finishing higher than any other 4-H group in the state.

“They were really focused on making sure they reached out to people in the community,” she said.

The food was distributed in August to 32 food pantries and soup kitchens throughout LaPorte County.

Among the recipients was the pantry at the Center Township Trustee’s office in LaPorte.

Trustee Lisa Pierzakowski said the amount of donated food at her pantry should be enough to last throughout winter with enough meat to fill four large freezers and a few smaller ones.

Some of that meat came from a steer and part of a pig her office purchased from 4-H’ers with donated funds.

Pierzakowski said her pantry also received a variety of canned goods along with fresh vegetables and fruit.

“There was a lot of food this year. The 4-H’ers went well above and beyond,” she said.

According to Farm Credit Mid-America, the amount of food raised from all the 4-H participants this year was down from last year’s record of 233,500 pounds. The program began in 2021.

4-H’ers from Lake County finished behind LaPorte County in northern Indiana with 8,660 pounds of food while the third-place finisher from that part of the state was Fulton County at 5,780 pounds.

West Central Indiana led all regions with over 61,000 pounds.

Leading the way in that region was the 4-H youth from Miami County with more than 18,000 pounds of food for second place overall.

Over 39,000 pounds of food came from the southeast part of the state with the most in that region, nearly 15,000 pounds, coming from Jackson County.

Close to 26,000 pounds of food came from the southwest part of the state with Monroe County leading that area with more than 9,000 pounds.

Another 15,000 pounds of food came from the east-central part of the state. Wabash County led that region with over 8,400 pounds.

“Programs like Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer reflect the best of rural America, bringing people together to help one another and address local needs.  Seeing Indiana youth rally their communities to help address that challenge is a powerful example of neighbors supporting neighbors,” said Natasha Cox, Farm Credit Mid-America senior vice president of agricultural lending.