LaPorte 4-H Leads in 'Fight the Hunger' Challenge
Published: Friday, October 9, 2026
Four-H youth in LaPorte County raised more food for the needy than any other participating 4-H program in the state.
The over 23,000 pounds of food collected by the 4-H'ers during the LaPorte County Fair in July was about 5,000 pounds more than the second place finisher, the 4-H youth from Miami County.
Four-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.
"That's a pretty good haul for all of our local food banks," said Brett Kessler, treasurer of the LaPorte County Fair board.
About half of the food was in the form of 1 pound packages of ground beef from animals shown by 4-H'ers during the fair and sold during the livestock auction at the fair to individuals and organizations donating them 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 was in the form of canned goods and other non-perishable items set inside donation containers placed throughout the fairgrounds and companies making sizable edible contributions.
One of the leaders of 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 Twp. Trustee's office in LaPorte.
Trustee Lisa Pierzakowski said the amount of donated food at her pantry should be enough to last throughout winter.
She said the meat was enough to fill four large freezers and a few smaller ones.
Some of the meat came from a steer and part of a pig her office purchased from 4-H'ers with donated funds to help Feed the Hungry.
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, a total of 181,152 pounds of food was raised from all of the 4-H participants this year, which was down from last year's record of 233,500 pounds since the program began in 2021.
Four-H'ers from Lake County finished third in northern Indiana with 8,660 pounds of food while the fourth place finisher from this part of the state was Fulton County at 5,780 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.
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