NEW PHILADELPHIA – Buckeye Career Center staff has donated a market pig from the Tuscarawas County Fair to the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry.
Staff members raised $2,124 to purchase a 236-pound pig shown by Brady McGuire, a senior energy major from Claymont High School, according to a community announcement. The pig was processed through Buckeye Career Center's meat cutting, deli and bakery program, yielding approximately 130 pounds of ground sausage.
Buckeye Career Center employees donated 130 pounds of ground sausage, processed from a pig purchased at the Tuscarawas County Fair, to the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry. Pictured, from left to right, are Sherry Cardani, Kevin Alexander, Brady McGuire, Bill Fritz and Bob Alsept.
The donation will have a meaningful but short-lived impact thanks to local demand, said Bill Fritz, food bank treasurer.
“The need we have is very real,” Fritz said in the announcement. “It's not just residents of Dover and New Philadelphia that we serve. We serve all of Tuscarawas County and beyond – no fewer than 750 families a week. We try to make sure they get enough food to sustain them for a week.”
McGuire plans to use the proceeds for a future career
McGuire, who was present during the pickup, is in his final year of 4-H with the Rowdy Ramblers club. He started showing and selling hogs at the age of 9 and plans to use the proceeds from this year's sales to purchase tools and equipment for his future career as a utility or heavy equipment operator.
“It makes me feel good that other families will be fed because of my pig,” McGuire said in the announcement.
Buckeye Career Center staff began contributing to this year's hog purchase in September. The initiative, led by Superintendent Secretary Sherry Cardani, included donations from teachers, instructors, support staff, administrators and others.
This marks the 15th consecutive year that Buckeye Career Center staff has purchased a fair trade pig from a student and donated the processed meat to a local food bank. Over the years, employees have raised a total of $19,249.50 to support the efforts.
This story was created by Jane Imbody, [email protected], with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. For more information, visit cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.
This article originally appeared in The Times-Reporter: An Honest Pig Becomes 130 Pounds of Sausage for Hungry Families
