Local County Fairs Join Stock the Trailer Competition to Fight the Hunger

If you are going to a local county fair this summer, consider bringing a food donation.

(Southeast Indiana) - This month, the Decatur, Ripley, Switzerland and Franklin County Fairs are joining a youth-led statewide effort to fight hunger and give back to local community food banks by participating in the Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer contest — presented by Farm Credit Mid-America and sponsored by Rural 1st.

These four local counties join Dearborn and Ohio County Fairs for the friendly competition that encourages youth leaders to collaborate with their local community to collect food donations for local food banks throughout their county fair.

Since launching in 2022, Indiana junior fair boards have used creative tactics and impressive fundraising efforts to increase food donations year after year.

“We’re glad to bring this initiative back to county fairs across Indiana and to see young people step up and get their communities involved,” said Brent Ditmars, regional vice president of agricultural lending at Farm Credit Mid-America. “These County Fairs bring people together, and this contest gives folks a simple way to come alongside a cause that supports neighbors right here at home. In the end, our communities are the ones who benefit most.”

Record-breaking 2025

• 4H leaders across Indiana united to collect a record-breaking 233,500 pounds of food for more than 70 food banks statewide in 2025.
• This marked the fourth consecutive year of record donations– more than doubling 2024’s total of 108,000 pounds.
• Lake County in northwest Indiana was the overall state winner, collecting an astounding 75,122 pounds of food.
• Since its inception, the annual contest has collected and donated more than 1 million pounds of food in Indiana and Ohio.

In addition to the food collected, Farm Credit Mid-America donated $500 to each fair board who participated and additional money to the winners in each region, totaling $56,000 to junior fair boards across Indiana.

Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer is one way Farm Credit Mid-America and its consumer lending brand, Rural 1st, invest in rural communities and agriculture. In 2025, the association contributed more than $4 million to impactful programs, including $1.59 million for youth, college students and young and beginning farmers.

For more Fight the Hunger, Stock the Trailer resources, please visit Farm Credit Mid-America’s Community Investment webpage.