(La Porte County, IN) - A food drive in La Porte County placed in the top 5 against other counties statewide.

 

Presented by Farm Credit Mid-America and sponsored by Rural 1st, Fight Hunger, Stock the Trailer is a friendly competition among young Indiana residents to combat hunger.

 

This summer, 38 county fairs across the state collected 108,593 pounds of food for local food banks.  The amount set a record for the three-year event and surpassed 100,000 pounds for the first time in the still brief history of the contest.

 

“We’re committed to giving back to rural communities and supporting local agriculture. This is one of the ways we’re honored to do it,” said Steve Witges, Farm Credit Mid-America’s senior vice president of agricultural lending in Indiana.

 

He also said it was inspiring to see youth discover new, innovative ways to increase giving to their local food banks, considering more than 700,000 people in Indiana are facing food insecurity.

 

Just over 7,000 pounds of food was raised by 4H’ers during the La Porte County Fair, which placed fourth in the contest.

 

The winner this year was Jackson County with more than 16,000 pounds of food collected during their fair.