For a full decade, Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank (HCH) has run a program called Meating the Need which provides healthy LOCAL protein for the county’s most vulnerable kids and families and strengthens the partnerships between farm families and the greater community.
On Tuesday, July 22 at the 4-H Livestock Auction, HCH will purchase – with help from donors – beef, dairy cattle, and hogs from LOCAL 4-H members. Meating the Need donations go towards the sale of the animals and to the 4-H members as they pursue their 4-H, education, and life goals.
“Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank is proud to continue its partnership with Hamilton County 4-H members,” HCH Executive Director Suzanna Hobson said. “Year after year, this partnership continues to grow to provide much-needed protein to food pantries we serve in our community. We are set to purchase 19 animals – nine cattle and 10 hogs – that will provide over 5,500 pounds of food from 4-H’ers this year. This is a huge impact for our neighbors in need.”
According to Hobson, 4-H’ers are still able to take part in the livestock auction for scholarships. Those dollar amounts are in addition to the actual market sale of the animals.
In 2022, owners of The Hamilton County Reporter brought back the tradition of printing comprehensive 4-H results in a special publication filled with abundant color photos of 4-H’ers and their projects. We also started a new tradition: using the advertising money from our 4-H publication to help families in need.
Despite its reputation for affluence, food insecurity throughout Hamilton County is a persistent challenge. The reality of food insecurity is stark: approximately 33,666 residents – including a staggering 7,136 children under 18 years old – grapple with the uncertainty of where their next meal will come from.
When HCH gave us those numbers, we reached out to our advertisers asking them to help us help others.
“This community has an incredible heart for service and our advertisers all stepped up in a big way to help the Meating the Need program,” Publisher Stu Clampitt said.
In this year’s 4-H Results Special Edition you will see ads from more local businesses and individuals than ever, allowing us to give a full 10 percent more than last year to help HCH fill the gap.
“Duke Energy supports the Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank’s 4-H partnership,” Duke Energy Government and Community Relations Manager Mark LaBarr said. “We appreciate their important mission distributing protein products to food banks for the nutrition needs of those among us seeking assistance.”
The Reporter wants to stress that the HCH donation check was not from the newspaper, but from the numerous people and businesses who gave their support both to help our neighbors who are struggling and to keep 4-H results in print every year.
“The ‘Meating the Need’ program connects so many coordinative aspects of our bank history in agriculture, supporting 4-H, and providing direct assistance to families in need,” First Farmers Bank & Trust Senior Vice President Tade J. Powell said. “As the bank continues to grow in Hamilton County and specifically outside of the agricultural community, it’s a unique way for us to give back as we celebrate our bank cultural history. I think the initiative is a great example of partnerships committed to the greater good through sincerity and good old-fashioned hard work.”
Reporter Owner Ray Adler said the newspaper is just doing what it should.
“This is exactly what newspapers are supposed to do,” Adler said. “Don’t thank us. Thank everyone who said yes when we asked them to pitch in.”
We think every 4-H kid deserves to have their name in the newspaper. Keep reading The Reporter for updates on those forthcoming 4-H results!
Learn more about HCH online at hchfoodbank.org.