ROANOKE, VIRGINIA — During a recent auction at the Lawrence County Fair, Kroger purchased $3,000 worth of hogs that had been raised by local Lawrence County 4-H students.

The hogs, secured by the Proctorville Kroger store manager Fred Denny, were raised by Layne Bell, Alexis Freeman and Dawson Forbush. Kroger donated more than 400 pounds of meat to Facing Hunger, which will ultimately provide hundreds of meals to West Virginians struggling with hunger.

In what is a unique partnership between the Lawrence County Fair, Kroger and the Facing Hunger Food Bank, both students and those experiencing food insecurity benefit from the purchase of these hogs at the auction.

“We look forward to coming out to the Lawrence County Fair each year, because it’s a great chance for Kroger to support the hard work and sacrifices of the Lawrence County 4-H students,” Denny said. “And it’s especially rewarding when we’re able to tell the students that their hogs will end up going on to support their neighbors in need.”

The Facing Hunger Food Bank will distribute the meat to Community Mission Outreach, Harvest for the Hungry, Michael Grace Place and the food pantries at Campbell Chapel Church and Central Christian Church.

“This partnership between the Lawrence County Fair, Kroger and the Facing Hunger Food Bank is so important to us,” Cynthia Kirkhart, executive director at the Facing Hunger Food Bank, said. “We love that we’re able to reward students for their hard work while providing local pantries with excellent sources of protein. This outcome really underscores the importance of community partners and shows Kroger’s commitment to ending hunger.”

Kroger’s donation to the Facing Hunger Food Bank is in line with the company’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative, the company-wide initiative to end hunger in its communities by 2025.