Walking in the steps of a legend

Anita Hagen is ‘Meating the Need’ one last time

By AIDA KARIM
news@readthereporter.com

Countless hours of sacrifice, dedication, and hard work culminate this summer. Tireless community advocate, Anita Hagen, leads her final Meating the Need campaign, but Hagen is passing the baton to a new generation of leaders.

Each year the Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank (HCHFB) hosts Meating the Need in conjunction with 4-H. The goal of the program is to provide a substantial amount of high-quality beef and pork to local food pantries as the demand for protein remains ever-present.

The Reporter spoke with former HCHFB Executive Director Anita Hagen, 4-H Organizer Ellie Miller, St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church Contributor Deborah Foley, and Lisa Hanni from Purdue Extension Hamilton County.

According to Hagen, Meating the Need has persisted for the past 10 years, growing into one of the largest and most impactful initiatives fighting food insecurity in the state.

Hagen said finding funding had always remained a consistent issue. In order to cater to such a large need, it is crucial for the HCHFB to find donors and persistent avenues of support in order to purchase meat.

Hagen said you can make a contribution at tinyurl.com/MeatingTheNeed2026 or by visiting the HCHFB webpage, hchfoodbank.org. Every donation makes a difference because the money goes directly toward supporting the program.

According to Lisa Hanni, not only does Meating the Need benefit the families who receive the meat, but also the family farms that provide for the program. As different animals are received, community members get the chance to bid on the inventory, with a portion of the monetary donation going directly to the family farms.

Hagen said the program had surprisingly gained much of its footing and continued support from the youth involved, with many 4-H’ers benefiting from their involvement with the program.

Ellie Miller, now a university student at Kansas State, said she had long been a 4-H member, contributing to the program through her family’s farm.

Miller told The Reporter as a young child, it had always been difficult to part with the animals she had raised, but through Meating the Need, it always reassured her that her animals were going to a good cause.

According to Deborah Foley, the program “has been a blessing for all of my grandkids.”

Foley said as she watched her grandchildren grow older, each of them was uniquely involved with Meating the Need. It’s important for them to take part in volunteer work where the impact is directly apparent, leading to years of dedication toward community initiatives.

According to Hagen, one highlight of the program is distribution day, when the food bank has collected all the meat and begins to hand it out to local pantries.

“When you see the big smiles on the food pantries faces when they have the meat they are about to pass out, it’s always a good feeling,” she said.

Hagen said collecting protein is a crucial component of better serving disadvantaged communities. The food bank can always collect canned goods, but having nutrient-dense, high-quality, local protein makes such a difference.

“We can raise the money, the kids raise the animals, we purchase the animals so that the kids can do it again next year, and then that meat goes to families who need it.” She said, “There are very few things in life where you do have control, but this is one where we can make a difference.”