Fair pigs feed county's hungry
—Courtesy photo Kira Ramey, second from left, raised a pig for her first year in 4-H. The 13-year-old Priest River teen was sad Swynona Judd had to go, but it made her feel better to know the pig was donated to the Bonner Community Food Bank to feed local families.
SANDPOINT — Kira Ramey, 13, said she enjoyed her first year in 4-H, even though her pig, Swynona Judd, was destined for auction at the Bonner County Fair’s annual market animal sale.
The Priest River teen's pig went to auction at the Bonner County Fair in August and was purchased by Columbia Bank. The bank donated the meat to the Bonner Community Food Bank.
While Kira said it was difficult to let her pig go, she was happy Swynona Judd would be going to a good cause.
"I was actually really happy it went to the food bank," Kira said. "They need meat for helping people so it kind of made me feel a little better about it."
Food bank director Debbie Love said a total of 679 pounds of meat was donated to the food bank after fair. About 185 pounds of that was from Kira's pig after it was processed. The meat was processed and packaged by Woods Meat Processing before heading to the food bank to help feed families.
"Our clients are very grateful," Love said. "Protein is a big need here at the food bank and frozen meat goes quickly whenever it's donated, so to receive the pigs is a generous donation and it goes far for our families."
She said Woods does a good job of packaging the portions in smaller packages so the food bank can feed individuals and two-member households, as well as larger families.
Kira said the pig weighed in at 250 pounds at the auction. She received $4 per pound for a total of $1,000. Pigs that go to auction at the fair are required to weigh a minimum of 200 pounds. If they are more than 300 pounds they can still be auctioned, she said, but the sale will only pay a maximum of 300 pounds, so anything over that is unpaid.
Anita Porter, vice president and market manager for Columbia Bank, said it was a joint effort between the Ponderay and Sandpoint bank branches to purchase the pig. They paid the premium for the pig as well as the processing fees. She said it was a "win-win" in support of 4-H and the food bank.
"We love to support the community and kids," Porter said. "In prior years we've purchased animals at the fair and we've always donated to the food bank. We came up with the idea to combine the two, supporting both 4-H fair kids and the food bank."